If We Hold On Together
by BlueRaven 666
Summary: (cheesy title, I know) Reapers, Demons, and Angels alike that had been associated with the Earl of Phantomhive and his butler, Sebastian, are trapped in Hell and shall remain there unless they break down and tell each other their deepest, darkes secrets as well as their true forms. Are they willing to get over their differences in order to free themselves? PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

It was beautiful, really; the way the black and white rose petals danced in the breeze. The thorny plants grew close to the ground and crowded around Sebastian's ankles as he walked. He carried with him his master, Ciel; a newly reborn demon. The steady breeze made his locks of raven hair sway to and fro in front of his face as he looked to his master with a rather emotionless gaze.

"Where shall we go now?" he asked.

Ciel shrugged slightly, "You know, I don't much care. After all you and I already know where we're ultimately going to end up. I was always going there; as a dead human, or as a live demon."

Sebastian stopped at the edge of a deep canyon that cut through the earth. It dropped straight down into a black abyss; into a world the child-demon didn't know. The tails to the older demon's tailcoat flapped and swayed to the pace of the breeze. He stared into the awe-consuming blackness, thinking . . . thinking . . .

Ciel's eyes slipped closed as he allowed the breeze to push his bangs back. A rather peaceful look settled on his face.

"I feel good, somehow; as if released from a spell I was under for a long time."

"Yes," Sebastian said with a sigh, looking down at him, "And in return for that, I have been put under an _eternal _spell."

A hand that had been resting on Sebastian's shoulder visibly tightened and Ciel shot him a stern look.

"You are my butler, Sebastian."

"I am simply one hell of a butler. For eternity."

Ciel's tone went sour, "And as before there is only one answer that you will give me. You know it, don't you?"

Sebastian sprang forth over the edge of the canyon, kicking up the black and white rose petals that were beneath his feet.

"Yes, my lord."

* * *

_ "I know that was rather short for a prologue, but bear with me! I HAD TO START SOMEWHERE! The idea for this story was brought on by a writing prompt from __Kiara Dawn. I will be working on this while waiting for 'Violated: A Butler's Suffering' to gain more reviews. Please enjoy!"_

**-BlueRaven666**


	2. Chapter 1: Welcome to Hell

**Chapter 1: Hell**

Sebastian's landing in Hell with his master in tow was, by no means, graceful. Their decent down alone took several minutes of simply free falling. Of course, it was a fall Sebastian was familiar with and he knew when precisely his feet would first touch the rocky surface of Hell's gates. Even so, as the butler landed he felt a painful shock shoot through his ankles. It was odd to him, but he theorized it was all because of the child-demon that was cradled in his arms.

When they landed, however, Sebastian found that they were not in front of Hell's gates, like he had predicted. Instead, they had touched down on a wide ledge hanging at the edge of a cliff. Below them lay Earth's mantle; a vast sea of molten rock and scattered patches of solid land. This only made up a small portion of this realm. Beyond the places of magma were places of land where distant buildings could be seen. There were live trees and forests and mountains. It was like a whole nother world underground.

Even so, that did not solve the mystery on why they had landed here. Even when he was just going back and forth from his realm to the human realm, Sebastian had always been forced to pass through the gates of Hell, as it had the supernatural ability to track the comings and goings of demons. To be directed here straight from the human realm could only mean one thing: the devil had been waiting for them.

Ciel clutched Sebastian's shoulders and shrunk against his chest.

"Where are we?" he inquired.

Sebastian looked about himself, trying to find a familiar landmark or a clue as to which part of Hell they might be in. From where they were, all was dark around them. He couldn't see much, but he could still sense that they were not alone.

"I'm not sure, exactly," he confessed, "But we're not where we're supposed to be."

A loud scoff from behind him made Sebastian jump slightly.

"Speak for yourself, demon scum! You weren't _dragged_ here out of nowhere."

Sebastian knew the voice, but looking around the corner they were in was just too dark to see him or anyone else that could possibly be with him. He gently set Ciel down.

"Stand back for a moment, master."

"What are you going to do?"

Ridding himself of his gloves, Sebastian knelt down and scratched away at a bit of dirt in front of him, "It's about to get very bright and very hot."

The butler brushed his palms together in the way one would if they were coated in dust. From between his hands a flame jumped out and lit the patch of dirt Sebastian had scratched at ablaze. Several figures shielded their eyes from the sudden brightness. One of those figures was William T. Spears, who had been sitting on a nearby boulder. With him were Grell Sutcliff, Ronald Knox, and Undertaker. Two other figures shrunk against the nearby wall of the canyon; their white hair and clothes illuminating the area they sat in. Ashe Landers and Angela Blanc were here, as well. Much to the bewilderment of the raven demon, Claude Faustus, Hannah Anafeloz, and the triplets—Thompson, Timber, and Canterbury—were also there, even though they were believed to be dead.

"What is this?" Sebastian inquired, "Why are you all here?"

"That's what we would like to know!" Ashe cried out, clearly frightened at their current situation, "Why the hell are we all here? What did you and that black-hearted master of yours do this time?"

"I'm about as clueless as the rest of you, I'm afraid. I was fully expecting to land outside of Hell's front gates, but we landed here instead."

"And where exactly is 'here'?" Ciel asked.

"These ledges don't serve any important purposes, really. Demons often use them as meeting places; sometimes for socializing, sometimes for dueling."

"That still doesn't explain why we're all here," Angela commented.

"I agree," Claude chimed in, "As I recall, Hannah, the triplets, and myself all died by your hands, Sebastian. As you might know, the odds of a demon being reincarnated in Hell are slim; and if they do happen, they take a long time. To have it happen to five demons all at once without any apparent reason is impossible."

"Why are you asking me?" Sebastian asked in a frustrated tone, "I'm not the one who decides which demons are reincarnated and which stay dead. If you want the answer to that, why don't you make the journey to Lucifer's palace and ask him yourself?"

The sound of beating wings approaching silenced the arguing group, "I think I've heard quite enough."

A tall man with golden hair and ivory skin landed on the edge of the ledge they stood on. His eyes were those of the typical demon; a deep maroon color with slitted pupils. The wings that carried him held a bat-like appearance and towered a few feet over his head.

A look of pure terror settled on the faces of the angels as they trembled in their cramped corner and muttered the newcomer's name.

"Lucifer!"

The man shot them a sly smile, "Speak of the devil and he shall come."

Each of the demons bowed their heads low with respect; all but Ciel, it seemed, who didn't know what to do with himself.

"I was the one who brought you all here," Lucifer continued, "I go to and fro on the Earth and walk back and forth on it. I watch my minions and who interacts with them. I see their accomplishments and their failures; but I did particularly enjoy watching _you_, Michaelis."

All heads turned towards the raven demon. Facing the words of the ruler of Hell, Sebastian seemed smaller, less threatening, and ultimately humiliated.

"In just three years, you went from a mere demon to . . . _this_; serving a helpless newborn demon as a butler. And over that span of time, each being that sits here now has helped bring you closer to granting you precious master's wish; closer to getting you next meal in your belly. But now . . ."

"Now, I shall never know the taste of another human soul again," Sebastian replied, his tone emotionless and stale; as if he didn't care anymore.

Lucifer looked around at the others, who stared at him with shocked expressions.

"I've brought you all here because you all share a few striking similarities. You all hate each other. With a passion. It wouldn't matter which two of you were to be locked in a room together, you'd still fight. You'd still argue. You'd still try to kill each other. All of you have reached the point now where you only care about what's best for yourselves. So I've developed this experiment.

"Not only do you detest each other, each of you is an immortal being with a true form and a great deal of secrets you keep only to yourselves. However, if you wish to get out of here, you must reveal your true forms to each other and tell each other those secrets. If you don't, you'll all be trapped in here for eternity. For demons, this might not be an issue, but for angels and Grim Reapers . . ." Lucifer chuckled darkly, "Let's just say Hell will be all you expect it to be, and an eternity is a long time."

Looks of disgust and annoyance circulated throughout the group. William gained the nerves to stand and approach the powerful demon.

"There has to be some law against this! You can't just keep us here against our will when we didn't even stray down here to begin with. Some of us have our duties to perform in the human realm."

A bemused look appeared on Lucifer's face, "A lot of beings are kept here against their will. Hell is a separation from God. Here you are _mine_!"

The demon's wings unfolded and he disappeared into the depths of Hell. From over his shoulder, eh called to them.

"I'll be watching . . ."


	3. Chapter 2: In the case of Grell Sutcliff

**Chapter 2: Grell**

No one knew how long the immortals sat in silence after Lucifer had left. Of course they were all aware of the severity of the situation. They knew what had to be done in order to get out of Hell, but no one was willing to reveal their true forms—apart from Grell, who was always in his true form—nor were they willing to share their deepest and most personal secrets.

"So," Grell piped up, "Who wants to go first?"

Everyone exchanged an awkward glance. Ashe and Angela shook their head in refusal, Ronald averted any gazes that were directed towards him, the triplets whispered back and forth to each other, and everyone else stood in place, waiting for any volunteers.

"I say Sebastian should go first," William stated, glaring at the raven demon, "After all, you're the reason we're here in the first place."

Ashe stared at Sebastian with fear glinting in his eyes. The angel had been one of few beings to have ever glimpsed his true form; something so awful that he had gone insane while the demon tore him limb from limb about a year back.

Sebastian's brow twitched in annoyance, "And what about you? I can't help but wonder what skeletons you have hidden in your closet, William."

"I agree with the Reaper," Claude chimed in, "None of us would be here if it weren't for you, Michaelis. I say you should go first."

The spider demon looked to Hannah, who merely shrugged.

"I don't much care who goes first, so long as it isn't me."

"Are you scared?" Ronald inquired, "I'm sure a beautiful woman, such as you, has plenty of secrets hidden away."

"Oh, please!"

A small chuckle from a far corner drew everyone's attention to old Undertaker, who had seemingly been forgotten as he sat quietly listening to everyone else argue.

"Perhaps we should start with the one who has already revealed his true form to us," the old man suggested, "Grell, I'm sure you have some pretty interesting secrets."

Grell stiffened, "I . . . I . . ."

"Yeah," Sebastian added, "After all, we both used to work together. I'm sure under all that red that you wear, there's something you have hidden that you didn't want anyone else to know."

The red-headed Reaper sat himself down where he stood; a look of utter shame and guilt coating his face.

" . . . A singer."

In an instant, all eyes and ears were on Grell.

"I might be an actress," he continued, "But all I ever wanted out of life was to be a world renowned singer. It's why I was horrible at my job as a butler, it's why I don't put much effort into my job as a Grim Reaper, and it's the only reason why I joined Sebastian that one time when he played his violin."

The Phantomhive butler gave Grell a look of pity, "I'll admit it, you were skilled. It was probably the only thing you were really good at when under my training."

Grell smiled, "Thanks, Bassy, but there's more. One of my other secrets is that I never like admitting that I'm wrong. I know no one else likes it, either, but I go so far as to lie and lie and lie again just to keep myself from facing the fact that I was wrong."

"He's right," William stated, "We argued for a solid decade over the death of this fellow named Thomas; an unsuccessful author. He was so convinced that keeping him alive would do good for the world, all because he liked a piece he had written the night before he died. I, on the other hand, disagreed and settled on the conclusion that his life contained no significance. It wouldn't have done the world any good to keep him alive."

The group exchanged questioning glances.

"I still fail to see how that's a secret," Ashe remarked, "So he hates to admit that he's wrong, so what?"

"Old man Sutcliff can be a bit excessive when he wants to prove himself right, though," Ronald said, "I've seen on more than one occasion where he threatened to kill someone if they tried to argue against him. I'm sure that's a quality he doesn't like having other people see."

"And I have one last secret," Grell announced, "I must tell you all about what really happened between Madam Red and I."

Ciel crossed his arms, not at all pleased that the name of his deceased aunt was being brought up all of a sudden, "What exactly happened that we don't already know?"

"Oh, put a scythe in it, you little runt. I lie; I just told you that! I never truly loved her; not when she was soaked in her victims' blood, not when she was dressed in red, and most certainly not when she was my master. She was very perverted. She'd always make jokes about sex. She was _boring_! I wanted to kill her long before I actually did, and when the opportunity was given to me, I did not pass it up."

Sebastian had covered Ciel's ears long before Grell had finished, though he knew full well of Red's perverted nature. When she had grabbed his hindquarters and when she had tried to tell Undertaker that nasty story in an attempt to make him laugh, all answers to that universe had been revealed to him.

"So let me get this straight," he said, "you've always wanted to be a singer, you hate to admit when you're wrong, and you felt nothing for Madam Red, despite the façade you pulled with her around; those are your secrets?"

Grell nodded, and then he smiled.

"And you know what? I feel a million times better with all that off my chest."


	4. Chapter 3: In the case of the Triplets

**Chapter 3: The Triplets**

Once Grell had finished speaking, it was an instant battle to find the next person to come forward. Grell tried to offer up Ronald as the next sacrificial lamb. In response, the red-haired Reaper was given a snide remark accompanied by his typical, childish smile. He flatly refused to go next. Ronald tried to press Hannah to go, who tried pressing Claude to go, who tried to urge Sebastian to go, who pressed William to go . . . it was a massive chain composed of reluctant immortals that all refused to go next.

The arguing finally turned into a full-blown fight. Sebastian and Ciel eventually separated themselves from the, by moving away to another wide ledge that hung on the wall of the canyon.

"I'm definitely not going anytime soon," Ciel remarked.

"I don't even know if you can go, sir," Sebastian stated, "You're a newly born demon. At the moment, you don't have a true form that reflects your true nature, nor have you done enough to harbor the secrets some of us have."

Ciel smirked, "Do you mean to tell me that there are things you've been keeping from me?"

Sebastian sighed irritably, "Sir . . . you haven't even scratched the surface of who I truly am."

The statement did get Ciel to think. He had seen Sebastian as a lot of things; a merciless killer, a genius that had brought him closer to his ultimate goal, a human, a demon, an angel, an animal, a friend, a father figure, a servant, a protector, a betrayer, a trickster, and even a clown, at times. Sebastian had been a lot of things. To think that he hadn't even scratched the surface of who or what his butler could be under all of that was unfathomable to the earl.

"Hey!" Ronald called to them, "the three demon brothers have agreed to go next. Get back here!"

So Thompson, Timber, and Canterbury were going next. Sebastian had to admit that he had always been curious about the brothers; how they thought so alike, how they were able to move in sync with one another; their overall behavior fascinated him, and he found himself loving the idea of learning more about them.

Gathering Ciel back into his arms, Sebastian bounded back to the group that was now gathered around the triplets. They looked at each other, still whispering quietly.

"Well," Ashe spoke up, "Let's hear it! If you have something to say, you might as well say it to all of us."

Nobody had ever been able to tell the difference between the three brothers, officially, but most of the group was certain that it was Thompson that shot the angel a disapproving scowl. The two other identical demons mimicked him.

"Since you seem to be in such a hurry . . ."

Before everyone's eyes, the three demons merged into one form. Normally small—appearing to be between the ages of fifteen and eighteen human years of age—Thompson grew a whole foot. His dark purple hair now stretched beyond his shoulders. He had a similar body shape as Sebastian's. his feet had turned into hooves, his hands had vicious claws at the end of each finger, and a large pair of horns weighed down his head; lowering it as if he were about to charge at something. He was clothed in fine materials and refulgent metal armor.

"Oh!" Sebastian gasped with surprise, "How interesting!"

"Indeed," Claude pitched in, "I never knew you had a Minotaur under your thumb, Hannah."

Thompson was known well as a docile demon. A Minotaur was possibly the last thing anyone suspected him of being.

"I never knew, myself, up until a decade ago," Hannah stated, "He and his "brothers" were always such good boys."

Thompson nodded; his horns seeming to groan with the effort he put into it, "Indeed, Timber and Canterbury were merely duplicates of myself so I wouldn't be lonely and so there would also be a few extra sets of hands helping around the Trancy estate."

"And because you three were basically the same person, there was never any sibling rivalry," Claude presumed.

"Not to mention you're more of a creature of Hell rather than a demon," Sebastian added, "So it's unlikely you ever made any contracts."

"That's right," Thompson confirmed, "I've never been under a contract, but I've accompanied Miss Hannah for a few centuries now." He shifted back into his human form and divided back into the trio that he was always with, "But I like having my brothers. It makes my life a lot less lonely."

Everyone nodded in understanding.

"I have a question," Undertaker piped up, "Why do you accompany Miss Hannah, in the first place."

The three identical demons looked at each other and replied in unison.

"Because she's very attractive."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE 2/26/2015**

_"Okay, I don't know what the hell happened here, but this story and my popularity in just blew up! It would see you have all quickly gotten attached to this story, and I couldn't be any happier with that fact. That being said, I'd like to know who you all think should be the next to confess. I just have one request: DO NOT SUGGEST SEBASTIAN! He will be one of the last to confess, and it will be for a very good reason. Let me know in the reviews who you'd like to see break down and confess to the group next and I will see you in the next chapter!"_

**-BlueRaven666**


	5. Chapter 4: In the case of Angela Blanc

**Chapter 4: Angela**

"Oh, William . . ."

"How many times do I have to say no?"

"Oh, c'mon, Boss! Get it done and over with so you don't have to worry about it."

Grell and Ronald prodded at William to go next. The Reaper's reluctance to do so had Undertaker giggling with delight as he sprawled across the boulder he had been sitting upon. The others looked around at everyone else, holding quiet discussions about their current situation. Ciel had dozed off; leaving Sebastian with time he didn't have to spend doting over his master, much to his own relief.

"Say, Sebastian?" Angela asked, gaining the raven demon's attention, "What's going to happen to us the longer we're down here?"

Sebastian gave an unknowing shrug, "I suppose we demons have nothing to worry about, but our gathering here won't stay a secret. It's likely that part of Hell already knows we're up here."

"Does that me that there will be demons trying to attack us?"

"Not demons, no, but . . . creatures."

"Creatures?"

"Yes, creatures. Like how Thompson is a Minotaur, there are other creatures like demon hounds, harpies, the hydra, Cerberus, Chimaera, and others."

A shudder ran through Angela, "I'll go next."

All eyes turned to her. Ciel stirred from his sleep.

"What?"

"I said, 'I'll go next'!" the angel stood, "I just want to get out of here. Hiding my true form and keeping my secrets isn't worth giving away our freedom."

A pair of glistening white wings sprouted from Angela's shoulders. They were quite large; nearly one-and-a-half times her body length, the longest feathers dragged on the ground behind her as she walked. Hovering above her head was a gleaming white halo that was as big around as a dinner plate. Her white hair doubled in length, stretching below her armpits.

"This is what I truly look like," she stated, "I guess it isn't all that bad."

"No," Claude remarked, "But you're causing quite a commotion down below."

On the ground below them, several demons were gathering at the foot of the canyon wall as they looked up and pointed at Angela.

"They've come to kill me, haven't they?" the angel squeaked with fear.

Sebastian shook his head, "No, they're just curious. They're probably wondering how an angel got in here."

"How can you tell?"

"Had they come to kill you, they'd all be armed. I don't see any weapons."

Angela nodded. She scanned her memory as she tried to dig up her deepest and most personal secrets.

"Where do I begin? Despite my destructive actions as an angel of massacre, I have not fallen. I will confess that I do get carried away in my work sometimes, such as when I brutally whipped Sebastian trying to get to Ciel Phantomhive."

It was mostly demons that laughed at the statement; all but Sebastian, who merely stood with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Is that true, Sebastian?" William asked, trying to suppress his own laughter, "Were you really whipped by an angel?"

"Yes," Sebastian replied, rolling his eyes, "Angela gave me a few dozen lashes with a bullwhip because I refused to give up my master."

Several others laughed; Ashe, William, Claude, Undertaker, and Ronald, mostly. Hannah smirked while the triplets whispered back and forth to each other.

"Moving on," Angela said, gaining their attention again, "There is one thing I've been keeping that I've never told anyone; not even to Ashe. It was years and years ago, back before one-third of the angels were cast out of Heaven along with Lucifer. Back when Lucifer though of rebelling against God, I actually listened to what he had to say. When he was finished talking, I felt as though he was right."

The statement made the group go silent. Ashe looked mortified whereas the demons looked profoundly impressed.

"Most of what he said made sense to me," Angela continued, "I would have rebelled with him, too. But I was afraid of God. He had a lot of power. Lucifer might have been His favorite angel, but even I knew God was not the type to withhold his wrath on his favorites."

"And yet wrath is one of the seven deadly sins," Hannah stated, "That's why I rebelled, because God is such a hypocrite."

"He is a hypocrite, and He's cruel. Some days I wish I _had_ rebelled with Lucifer and the other angels. Heaven is a wonderful and peaceful place, but to be here doing God's work is awful!"

Her words earned her a round of applause from the demons.

"Finally!" Claude exasperated, "Finally someone else who thinks like we did."

"Like we still do," Sebastian corrected, "It's hard to find people who think like that, these days."

The beating of wings caught their attention as Lucifer returned to the ledge, staring at Angela for some time before his face cracked into a satisfied grin.

"I'm glad there's still someone on the inside who still thinks that I was right."

Angela blushed and looked away, "Someone has to root for the other team, don't they?"

Lucifer nodded before soaring back into the depths of Hell. He was never one to stick around in places in his own realm, it seemed, but that didn't matter when he had held onto his beliefs for many millennia; never once thinking that he'd been wrong.

"Anything else you'd like to add?" Hannah inquired.

"No," Angela replied, "I don't think there's anything else I have left to hide."

Sebastian cleared his throat, "Pluto!"

"Pluto? What about him?"

The raven demon laughed, "Don't try playing dumb. I knew what went on between you and that blasted demon hound."

"Well, I don't think that matters anymore, because you killed Pluto. And since you already know, that doesn't exactly make it a secret."

"Pluto was not killed by my hands," Sebastian countered, "He was killed by the other servants because he had lost his mind. The damn dog never listened anyways. Either way, it still matters because you still feel uncomfortable discussing the subject. If you aren't willing to share it openly, then that does make it a secret. It doesn't matter if I'm the only on that knows about it or not."

"Alright!" Angela growled in frustration, "Fine, I'll say it! I loved Pluto."

The group exchanged a questioning glance.

"Are we talking about loved as in 'Good boy', 'Bad boy', 'Roll over', 'Fetch'," Ronald asked, "Or are we talking about **_loved_** as in you were this dog's bitch?"

Angela covered her face with embarrassment, "Both."

Horror, confusion, disgust; no one could completely explain how they felt towards Angela's confession. In fact, it wasn't until Undertaker wound up rolling on the ground, laughing, that the reaction spread.

The angel's face flushed a bright red color as she looked to Ashe, who lifted his hand to her face.

"I have nothing to say to you."


	6. Chapter 5: In the case of Ashe Landers

**Chapter 5: Ashe**

"If that's what one angel had to say," Ronald spoke up, "I'm eager to know what the other one is hiding."

All eyes turned to Ashe, who was still flustered from what Angela had said. The male angel shook his head. He didn't want to go next; not now, nor ever.

"I agree," Angela spoke up, "You know everything that I've been hiding, Ashe. Now it's your turn."

Ashe finally stood up from his fetal position against the canyon wall and stood erect with a blank expression on his face.

"How many times do I have to say no?"

Sebastian let out a chuckle, "As many times as it takes for you to finally say yes, otherwise we'll never get out of here."

"Come on!" Grell whined, "The angel lady was the whore of a demon hound. Your confessions _can't_ be any worse than that."

The others laughed. In truth, they could come up with _a lot_ of things that were worse than that, but nobody dared to say the things they had in mind, lest someone give off the wrong impression that they wanted to go next.

Ashe avoided the situation for as long as he possibly could. He paced up and down the length of the ledge as he thought.

"I-I'm not going," he muttered, "You all can go and confess your sins, but I flatly refuse to g—"

The angel's rant was cut off by a dark shape grabbing him by the collar of his white tailcoat. The creature let out a triumphant screech as it circled tauntingly in the air with the angel in its claws.

"What is that thing?" Ciel asked, horrified.

"It's a harpy," Undertaker replied, "They're nasty creatures with human faces and bird-like bodies."

"Well, _do something_!" Angela shouted, "It's going to eat him!"

Undertaker laughed, "Silly girl, harpies don't eat angels. They actually steal food from the humans. No, it's likely that the harpy is going to hang that angel from the tree where its nest is."

"Then, I'll stop it!"

Angela rushed forward, prepared to fly after the harpy, only to be stopped by Hannah.

"You shouldn't do that, Angela!" the demoness told her, "You stick out like a sore thumb in this realm. If you try flying after him, you could be _swarmed_ by harpies."

The angel let out a frustrated huff, "Well _someone_ has to do _something_!"

The loud beating of wings gained her attention. A large black shape flew off of the ledge and soared after the harpy. The shape had disappeared so quickly that no one had seen who or what it was that was going after Ashe, but this creature was _far_ larger than the harpy.

"What is that?" Angela asked.

Hannah's eyes squinted to try to identify the creature. She was only able to make out a large pair of black bird-like wings, razor-sharp talons, and the pink glow of a demon's eyes.

"I think it might be Sebastian," she said.

All eyes were instantly on the shape that was rapidly gaining on the harpy's tail. Ashe must have caught sight of it, because he instantly began screaming incoherently. All that could be made out from his terrified cries were words like, "_Evil_!", "_Filthy_!", "_Unclean_!", "_Impure_!", and "_Bad_!"

The shape was able to shred the harpy's body into pieces in moments. Even from a distance, those who were watching from the ledge could see blood flying and feathers falling. Body parts were dropped into the magma below until the shape was left holding onto the harpy's claws, with still clung onto Ashe's coat.

With rapid speed, the shape carried the petrified angel back towards the ledge. Darkness enveloped the shape's form, hiding its appearance. Those that were listening could hear something land where they were, along with Ashe's frightened whimpers.

When the darkness cleared, Sebastian appeared; disheveled from the fight. He had three distinct claw marks running across his front, tearing through his clothes. The cheeky grin he always carried was present on his face. Ashe was clinging to Sebastian's legs like a frightened child as he muttered unidentifiable words into the fabric of his trousers.

"Oh, come on!" Ronald hissed at the demon, "You morphed into your true form and didn't even give us an opportunity to view it closely. Unfair!"

Sebastian's smile grew, "I never said that I was going to go next, but _someone_ had to rescue the pathetic angel."

"_Fallen angel_!" Ashe cried out, "That's my secret! I'm a fallen angel. I have no wings! I have no halo! This **_is_** my true form! I became so obsessed with trying to wipe out impurity in the world that I began to feed off of it whenever I was able to snuff it out. I'm like a parasite!"

Ashe took a moment to recompose himself and stand up before continuing.

"To make matters worse, that isn't all. Back when London caught fire, I was the one that lured Sebastian away from Ciel Phantomhive."

The memory was still fresh in the young earl's mind; how he woke up one morning to a completely empty hotel room in Paris, France—the room he and his butler had been staying in while they enjoyed an expedition being held there. They had had a disagreement the day before when the earl had found out that the Queen he'd been so very loyal to for years and years had been the cause of his parents' death and the awful things that happened to him after that. Sebastian had been ordered to kill Ashe and the Queen, only to have the order withdrawn abruptly when their fighting began to draw too much attention. That next morning, Ciel woke up to find Sebastian gone; _long_ gone, leaving him to find his way back to London on his own.

"And what's worse, still," Ashe continued, "Was that I had also lusted after a man at the same time. I had tried to . . . _court _Sebastian, in a sense. The lust I felt towards him was an overpowering feeling."

Ciel let out a disgusted gag as Sebastian shuddered. The butler knew all too well what Ashe had tried to do, and he found he couldn't make up his mind; what was worse: Dealing with Grell and his desire to bear his children, or dealing with Ashe and his want to rape and-or kill him? The others were staring at the angel, mouths agape. Grell's face had become a deep shade of red with rage, and it was possible that steam was whistling out of his ears.

"_How dare you try to steal my Bassy from me_?!"

Sebastian covered his face with embarrassment. In the end he knew Ashe didn't have a lot to hide. However, between him and Angela, he could consider the angels lucky that they hadn't been struck by lightning by now. Even so, their confessions did not amount to his own, which he dreaded facing the more people began to get their own secrets off their chest.


	7. Chapter 6: In the case of Ronald Knox

**Chapter 6: Ronald**

The harpy attack in Ashe did serve as a form of motivation to the group. If creatures of Hell were discovering their presence here this early—within a short couple of days—what did they expect to do to protect themselves the longer they were here? So long as there were still secrets being kept, they weren't getting out; and so long as they weren't getting out, they were sitting ducks for the terrifying creatures that prowled around Hell.

Despite the added motivation, though, there was still a heavy amount of reluctance in the group. Those that had already told their secrets and had revealed their true forms served as the ultimate support for them; cheerleaders of sorts. Still, it did not change the fact that the more people that went, the more dark the secrets started to become. Grell's confessions had been relatively tame; telling of lifelong dreams and dropping the façade he'd been keeping the truth shrouded in. Thompson's confessions revealed the fact that he was not a demon at all and that his "brothers" were merely duplicates of himself. The two angels were both guilty of lusting towards demonic beings, and Ashe had even fallen for his ironically impure actions. What more did the others have to hide?

Ronald was the next volunteer, who willingly threw himself forth as the next sacrificial lamb. The threat of another harpy attack, or worse, was all the motivation he needed.

"I'd take an eternity of overtime over this nonsense!" the blonde-haired Reaper stated.

William scoffed; the first sound of acknowledgement he had made in quite some time, "Be careful what you wish for."

Ronald crossed his arms, "Now, don't laugh! I already know my true form is funny lookin'; no need to remind me!"

The teeth in the young Reaper's mouth sharpened into points, giving them an appearance that was much similar to Grell's. his hair—already quite unusual; strawberry blonde with a stretch of black hair growing towards the back of his head—darkened until the majority of his hair was black; the stretch of black hair at the back of his head lightened until it was the strawberry blonde color his hair had been before.

His true form was hardly a surprise to the other Reapers that were present, but the demons seemed intensely curious and mesmerized by the young Reaper's new appearance.

"You're a lot more dashing with black hair, to be perfectly honest," Hannah commented.

"I don't like my true form," Ronald countered, "My teeth are too sharp; one good tongue-twister and I'll no longer have a tongue. In the summertime, my hair gets hotter than blazes."

The demons could not sympathize with Ronald over the issue with his hair. They came from a whole realm that was hotter than blazes 365 days out of the year, save for the rare occasion when Hell froze over. Summertime in the human realm was instant relief from summertime in Hell.

"I must confess that I'm extremely lazy at my job as a Grim Reaper," Ronald began, "But I have a good reason for it."

"A good reason for laziness on the job?" Grell inquired, "Now I'm intrigued. Go on."

"The reason I'm so lazy is because the Grim Reaper Staffing Association in England is not the only Grim Reaper Staffing Association I work for. I work for those in France, Spain, Italy, Russia, Germany, and even some places in the States."

William's eyes widened, "That many? How long has _this_ been going on?"

"Ever since I was a Reaper in training. I had to do because I screwed up. I wound up making a bet with a demon. The bet was that I could collect more souls than he could under the condition that the souls I collected were from those on the To-Die List and the people he collected from were people he had formed contracts with. The bet was to last until I became a full Reaper."

"How on Earth can you lose a bet like that?" Grell hissed, "Even Grim Reapers in training are able to collect more souls than a mere demon going through contracts like they're underwear. What happened? Did you get lazy and not collect any souls at all?"

Not exactly," Ronald replied, "By the time I had become a full Reaper, I had collected 11,110 souls. I was actually proud of myself. But when I went back to the demon, he had somehow managed to collect 11,111 souls. I demanded that he prove to me that all those souls were from contractors and he regurgitated each soul one at a time in front of me. I was disgusted, to say the least; both at him and at myself."

William, Grell, and even old Undertaker shook their heads in disapproval.

"I'm scared to know the price you had to pay that demon back." Grell stated.

A small chuckle from Claude caught their attention. To everyone's surprise, the normally-emotionless demon was trying to hold in his laughter.

"The price was that he had to produce the exact amount of souls we had both taken because of our bet. He had to collect another 22,221 souls. Why? Because I loved seeing him work so hard for something that was so futile. He didn't collect those souls for the sake of his job; he collected them for the sake of trying to win a bet with a demon."

Ronald's head fell in shame, "Claude Faustus was the demon I had made that bet with. Worst of all, he's right. To this day I don't reap sous for the sake of my job; I reap souls so I can pay off that nagging debt."

Many were silent as they looked at each other with unreadable looks on their faces.

Ronald chuckled, "So far I'm only up to 7,692 souls. I still have a lot of work to do."

William shook his head, "Don't you know it's futile?"

A questioning look appeared on the young Reaper's face, "What do you mean?"

"That debt can never be worked off. The souls Claude Faustus swallowed are not relevant; it's like they never existed. No matter how many souls you reap, it's never going to fill the gap of 11,111 lost souls.

"That's the thing about betting with demons," Sebastian added, "Those that know what they're doing—those that are like Claude—will always win and there's no correct payment method for losers."

At that moment, as Ronald realized his foolishness, Claude lost his marbles—or what some could say was left of them. The spider demon collapsed to the dust, laughing.


	8. Chapter 7: In the case of the Undertaker

**Chapter 7: The Undertaker**

It seemed as though it were his laughter that drew attention to him and somehow the group silently agreed that he was the one that would be going next, whether he wanted to or not. The group watched with disgusted looks as Claude continued to roll around in the dust, laughing until it seemed his gut could burst. Some hoped that he'd roll on top of the fire Sebastian had started days ago, which was still burning strong and bright. Others hoped that he'd simply tumble over the edge of the ledge that sat upon.

While waiting, Ciel had dozed off again. Curled next to him —seemingly as if he was guarding him—was Thompson, who was now in his Minotaur form. Ashe and Angela, despite the disgust they'd shown each other when they'd confessed their secrets, were curled against each other as they slept. William was reading the To-Die List. Grell was admiring his fingernails. Ronald was trying to flirt with Hannah, only to be ignored. Undertaker was watching Sebastian. The raven demon was staring blankly out into the depths of Hell.

"Sebastian," the old Reaper called out, "Where are you right now?"

"Not here," Sebastian replied in a stale tone, "I'm miles away."

"Hm, where at?"

Sebastian's arms came up and wrapped around his own torso. His gaze veered to his feet and he turned away from him, "It's too painful for me to say just yet."

Undertaker frowned, "Oh? So there _is_ something that's hurting you."

The raven demon looked at him with a questioning glance.

"I was sensing that there was something that had been bothering you for quite some time," he continued, "At first I thought it might have had something to do with that contract of yours; but it's not, is it?"

"No," Sebastian replied, "It runs much deeper than that, but I refuse to say anything more on the subject."

"Keeping secrets, are we?"

''Aren't we all? I was always going to have to saying; just not yet. Not until I'm ready."

A loud exclamation from behind them made Sebastian and Undertaker turn. Hannah had forcedly stood Claude up and pushed him to the center of the group.

"Just a moment!" the spider demon hissed, "I never said that I wanted to go next."

"Well, you never said that you _didn't_," Hannah countered, "But you've lowered all of our opinions of you enough for one millennia. It's your turn, now, Claude."

"I hate that name! You know that isn't what I'm really called."

"Then what's your real name?"

Everyone had been woken up by the commotion and now watched Claude with intense interest. The combination of their persistent staring and the nagging question Hannah had asked him made him go awkwardly silent.

"A vile demon like you is bound to be hiding something," William commented.

"Oh, he is," Sebastian chimed in, "He's the demon of the fairy princesses; putting flowers in his hair, knitting doilies, and talking to birds."

Claude did not allow his embarrassment to flush his face, "Says the demon that loves cats and whores around with nuns."

Sebastian didn't seem as hurt by the stamen as a whole as he was by the statement regarding cats.

"How many times do I have to tell people to never mention _cats_ around me?"

"Oh, what's wrong?" Claude taunted, "Are you still grieving? Are you still wishing you could bring her back, or perhaps avenge her death?"

"Shut up!"

"Guess what, Sebastian? Nothing you do—now nor ever—will bring her back, and there will be nothing you can do to relieve your despair and sorrow. She's gone! Get over it!"

"_I said_ **_shut up_**!"

No one that was watching could explain what happened, exactly, but they could tell that whomever or whatever Claude had been talking about had driven Sebastian over the edge. The raven demon's eyes flashed their unearthly pink color. His teeth elongated into horrifying fangs. Razor sharp talons tore through his white servant's gloves and he tore his butler attire to shreds as a large pair of wings sprouted from his shoulders. The pale beauty of his skin dulled into a deathly grey. His hair, normally silky, shiny, glossy, and smooth, lost the life it had and gained a gnarly, scraggly appearance. His body was bone-thin with each rib and vertebrae visibly showing through his skin.

Similarly, Claude's appearance had also changed. His canines quadrupled in size and curved downward like the pincers of a spider; dripping with venom. Rather than wings, from his shoulders branched out eight, spiny, spider-like legs.

"I forgot just how hideous your true form is, Sebastian," Claude stated with a smirk.

Sebastian snorted with disgust, "Excuse me for saying so; I had no idea that I was looking at your face. I thought for a moment that I was staring at Beelzebub's arse!"

Claude let out an enraged hiss before pouncing on top of the raven demon.

"You're not exactly a sight for sore eyes, yourself," he snarled, "You look like something that I'd expect to see crawl out of Raum's armpit."

The two demons tumbled this way and that. They scratched, clawed, bit, hit, and threw each other against the canyon walls and onto the floor of the ledge. The fighting was so violent that the others in the group had pushed themselves as far away from them as possible to avoid getting injured.

The fight finally ended when Sebastian fell limply to the ground, heaving for breath. There was a bite mark at the demons throat, as well as many more, where Claude's fangs had dug into the flesh with venom pouring out of the wounds.

"You might be able to fly, black bird," Claude stated as he pressed a firm foot to Sebastian's heaving chest, "But against my venom, you're powerless. It might not kill you, but it will keep you paralyzed for a good, long t—"

The spider demon's triumphant rant was cut off when his feet were suddenly knocked out from under him and a heavy force pushed him over the edge of the ledge. The surprise attack had been dealt out by Thompson in his full true form, with a black, steer-like head lowered over Sebastian. One good nudge was all it took to send the spider flying. They knew he'd be back, as his spider limbs made it easy for him to scale walls, but they knew it'd take him a while since he had ultimately landed in the lake of magma below them.

Thompson was nudging Sebastian's head, trying to gain some sort of reaction. The raven demons eyes locked on his and he managed to force enough air out of his chest to produce a weak _caw_.

"I've heard quite enough from him for one day," Undertaker stated as he came forth and knelt beside Sebastian. He pulled out a vile filled with a strange clear liquid.

"What is that?" Ciel inquired as he finally came out of shock from watching the fight.

"It's an anti-venom," Undertaker replied, "I suppose I'll go next, since there isn't much to my true form; this is it. In my long life, I've been a lot of things; a Grim Reaper, a psychotic killer, an undertaker, and more. While I still work in the funeral parlor now, sometimes it doubles for a doctor's office for immortal beings; it's the only way I can explain the weird concoctions I have sitting in jars in my shop."

Undertaker worked the anti-venom into the raven demon's mouth and used a cloth to try to work the access venom out of his wounds.

"Not to mention I'm a rather famous Grim Reaper," Undertaker continued, "Back when I was still a young thing, the actual title given to our kind was 'Soul Reaper'. After I passed judgment on Robin Hood and sent Marie Antoinette to He . . . _here_, the title of 'Soul Reaper' was changed to 'Grim Reaper'."

"As in 'Grim' is you true name?" Hannah inquired.

"Yes, I never told anyone because I had gotten used to being called 'The Undertaker' or just 'Undertaker'."

Ciel nodded before a stray hand brushed over Sebastian's exposed ribs, feeling the downy feathers that were dirty and matted together in ugly clumps. His beating heart caused the surface of his skin to flinch in time with the beat. The skin held to his bones so tightly it went up under his ribs and into the spaces in this hips were there was no muscle.

"How is he able to live like this?"

Undertaker shrugged, "I've never been able to figure it out, but I can tell that it's been years since he last swallowed a soul."

"How many years?"

"At least two hundred," Hannah stated, peering over the child-demon's shoulder, "Most demons never let themselves get that thin. It makes them seem weak, making other demons more keen on wanting to attack them. Sebastian is the first horrifically emaciated demon I'd seen in a long time."

Ciel's eyes took in every feature of his butler's true form until their eyes met. The elder demon's garnet eyes were focused on his with no readable thought in them as he patiently waited for feeling to return to his body.


	9. Chapter 8: Secret

**Chapter 8: Secret**

Due to Sebastian's paralysis and Claude's absence, the group forced themselves to stop. Undertaker's confessions were the acceptance, because his were historical and predictable. If more people within the group went, however, their confessions would be given to everyone but Claude, and Sebastian couldn't even speak at the moment, so he couldn't confess a thing. These circumstances did not meet Lucifer's criteria for getting out of Hell, so they simply had to wait until Claude crawled his way back to the group and the anti-venom that had been pumped into Sebastian kicked in.

Of course, the time they spent waiting gave them the opportunity to closely examine Sebastian's true form. While Ashe cringed in a corner, others took the time to examine certain features. From his wings to his claws to his high heeled boots, fangs and eyes; it seemed that many took great pleasure in uncovering the physical secrets Sebastian had been hiding. However, nobody knew about what else he could be hiding. Why did Sebastian and Claude fight when the spider demon had mentioned cats? Why did Claude even suggest that Sebastian was grieving? What had they been talking about?

The sound of footsteps approaching made their heads turn. Claude had returned, climbing up the canyon walls on still-healing legs. The spider demon collapsed on the ledge and looked to Sebastian.

"I couldn't have pumped enough venom in him to kill him!" he remarked.

"You didn't," Undertaker replied, "But with the amount of venom that you did pump into him, it might be a while before the anti-venom gets rid of its effects completely."

William prodded at the raven demon's limp form with his death scythe, trying to gain a reaction from him. He pushed his head, shoulders, sides, and hips trying to get him to move.

"Are we positive it isn't permanent?" he inquired, "His fingers haven't so much as twitched. How are we expected to progress if this pile of filth won't move?"

The Reaper gave a good, hard jab in one of, his arms. Quicker than anyone could process, the demon's arm rose up, grabbed William's death scythe, and proceeded to hit William over the head with it.

"Damn it, William," Sebastian hissed, "That actually hurt!"

The sound of Sebastian's voice caught everyone's attention, though his words were slurred due to the partial paralysis still stiffening his jaw. Ciel rushed to his butler's side and threw his arms around him.

"It's about time! I thought you'd be lying there like an old raccoon forever."

Sebastian chuckled weakly, "Don't get too excited. It's only this arm that's functioning along with a few fingers and toes. Everything else feels like it has a ship strapped to it."

"Well at least the anti-venom is doing something," Undertaker commented, "Any longer and I probably would have thought your paralysis was permanent."

Sebastian managed to laugh as he looked over to Claude and noticed the spider demon was glaring at him, "Ha! For a moment there, Claude, I thought you were concerned about my condition."

Claude frowned, "I wasn't, I was simply stating a fact; that there was no way I could've pumped enough venom you to kill you."

"You're just lucky that I can't go anywhere because I'd turn you inside out faster than a hydra can swallow a cow!"

"I'd like to see you try, bird breath!"

William extended his death scythe and dug the blade into the space that separated the two demons.

"That's quite enough, both of you!" He stated as he adjusted his glasses, "Fighting will get you two nowhere."

Sebastian smirked, "What now? You're actually going to try to discipline your . . ."

The demon's eyes widened suddenly and he used his one good arm to clasp a hand over his mouth. William's head snapped up from left To-Die list and his eyes were equally as wide as Sebastian's.

"Don't you dare let that last word pass your lips." The Reaper snapped, "We both swore that we would_ never_ speak of it!"

"Hold up!" Ronald said, "I want to hear this one!"

Sebastian shook his head and refusal and a chain of mumbles passed through his lips, "_Verbum secretum hebeo. Protest ergo illud? Jura mihi praeter te ipsum. Et ad eam Tu melius clauditis sepulero!_"

Many new that if Sebastian could move his body, he would have been rocking himself as he chanted the Latin words.

"Say it!" Claude hissed.

"Don't say it!" William shouted back.

"Tell me!"

"Don't do it!"

"Then you do it!" Sebastian snapped at William.

The gazes of the spider demon and the Reaper met momentarily, and then, all of a sudden, it seemed to click in the heads of the other immortals.

"Now that I think about it," Grell piped up, "You and Claude look_ a lot_ alike."

Nobody had ever seen William blush before, now his face was flushed bright red. He suddenly dropped his death site and strode over to Sebastian. With a surprising amount of strength, he gripped onto the demons throat with one hand and pinned him against the canyon wall.

While the Reaper was trying to choke him to death, Sebastian maintained a clever smirk. However, he was not smirking at what the Reaper was trying to do, he was smirking because of the Reapers sudden change in appearance. William's hair had lightened into a shade of gray that was so light, it was nearly white. Much like with Ronald and Grell, he scorched a set of razor-sharp, triangular teeth.

"Now_ that's_ the William I remember," Sebastian stated.

William responded by pressing harder against the demons throat, but in his eyes he seem to regret the action.

"Come on . . ." Sebastian choked out, "Five hundred years of abstinence? Aren't you tired of it? Come on, give it to m-"

What happened next was a complete and utter shock to all that saw it happen. William T. Spears- the Grim Reaper rumored to loathe any and all demons- now had Sebastian Michaelis pinned against the wall as he kissed him passionately. He didn't seem to be complaining, either.

" Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, woah!" Claude ranted, "What is this? Are you two mates, or something?!"

Neither William nor Sebastian answered him. Their passionate kiss slowly escalated into a full-blown make out session. William attempted to pull Sebastian closer to him, only to realize that the raven demon still could not stand on both legs. Although feeling was coming back into his feet, it had yet to spread to his legs.

" I'm going to hate you for this," William muttered curtly.

"Ah, but you still love me," Sebastian countered.

Ciel's body had been crawling with chills as he watch this, and finally he found the air to make words.

"Would you two get a room already?!"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE 3/10/15**

_"I apologize if my Latin is off. Google Translate can be right, or it can be not right. The translation, or close to, is supposed to be translated into, "I've a secret. Can you keep it? Lock it away and take it with you to the grave!" The line is actually inspired by a verse in the chorus of the song 'Secret' by 'The Pierces', just with a little spin on it. Sorry it took a while for me to update. I got a little distracted by the anime Okane ga Nai and wrote a oneshot."_

**-BlueRaven666**


	10. Chapter9:In the case of William TSpears

**Chapter 9: William T. Spears**

"Could someone _please_ explain to me what is going on?!"

Claude had originally been the one to ask the question, but it was obvious that everyone had the same exact question on their mind as they watched William and Sebastian sit down by the fire side-by-side without conflict. Rather fascinated, Ashe and Angela took note of this bizarre behavior; a Grim Reaper and a demon behaving like mates toward each other. Ciel watched and observed, searching for any signs of a façade being kept up. Grell was fuming with jealousy. Ronald stood around, looking dumbfounded along with Hannah, Thompson, and even Undertaker. Even old Undertaker was put off by William's stunning affection towards Sebastian.

"I suppose I'll go then," William stated, "There was a time when Sebastian and I were mates. As odd as everyone around me thought it was, I just couldn't get rid of him."

"So what happened?" Claude asked impatiently.

William looked to Sebastian, "I think _he_ should be the one to tell you that."

Everyone's gaze veered to the raven demon, who sat there quietly with his head bowed.

"Well?" Claude huffed, "Tell me!"

Sebastian finally looked up to him with a blank look on his face.

"What was the name of the demon spider that raised you?" He asked.

Claude's brows rose and surprise, "My mother? Her name was Shelob."

"Did she ever tell you the story about who your parents really were?"

"Indeed, she did. She knew nothing about my father, but I was told my birth-parent had been a ra-"

Those looking on could see the realization hit as Claude's face fell in shock.

"... A raven demon."

A look of shame settled on Sebastian's face as his head bowed.

"No," Claude shook his head in refusal, "You're lying . . ."

Williams's eyes narrowed, "Sebastian is a a lot of things. A liar is not one of them."

"Then that means you're . . . You're my . . . ?"

William adjusted his glasses, "You didn't get your poor eyesight from nowhere, you know? But I'll leave the explaining to Sebastian after I'm done. For now I will admit to the fact that Sebastian and I are mates. A millennia ago was when we first met, and then 400 years later we left each other, only to pair up again 200 years later."

"But you always acted like he pissed you off," Ronald pointed out, "Was that you just pretending?"

"No, I do hate him. I love him, I hate him, and he pisses me off, but I can't stay away."

"That's a lot to feel for just one person."

Undertaker laughed, "That's how love works you know?"

William nodded , "And besides, I couldn't love anyone other than Sebastian, anyways. I tried moving on a number of times, but it can never compare to the one you love first. This isn't my first time in Hell. I've been here many times when I came to visit Sebastian."

In love with a demon and a regular visitor in Hell; a life nobody had ever suspected the stiff and proper Grim Reaper of living. Although it was shocking, however, the confessions were still somewhat tame to all but Claude, who had now backed himself up into a corner on the ledge as he let his new reality sink in.


	11. Chapter 10: Leaving the Safety

**Chapter 10: Leaving the Safety**

Claude's overwhelmed conscience did not stop the others from agreeing that it was the spider demon's turn to go; as punishment for his arrogance and cruelty toward Sebastian. No matter how long it took him to calm down, they all knew it wouldn't take an eternity for him to confess.

"Wait!" Claude shouted, once he had gained the voice to do so, "I need to know more. Sebastian, what were you doing during the years you and William weren't together? Were you in a contract, or something? And what's with you and cats?"

William sighed, "Claude . . ."

"And why did you even stoop to killing me? Did you not know that I was your son? Why didn't you say something? Don't ignore me! Say something!"

"_Claude!_" William had never been one to raise his voice, but he found the will to do so when Claude did nothing but speak over him, "Silence yourself for five minutes, would you? All of this is a lot harder on Sebastian than you realize."

It wasn't until Claude slowed down that he realized Sebastian was sitting beside the fire and was staring blankly into the flames. He looked lost, tired, sad, and hurt. It was obvious that there were more memories that were beginning to surface, memories that he had locked away within himself.

"It's difficult for me to talk about it," he finally said, "It might have been quite a few centuries ago, but the pain is still fresh." The raven demon stood, "Rather than talk to you about it, it'll be much easier for me if I just show you; but you all have to be willing to walk through Hell with me to see it."

The immortals looked at each other. The demons nodded in agreement. The reapers, as reluctant as they were, nodded as well.

"What are _we_ supposed to do?" Ashe inquired, "We stick out like sore thumbs, remember? And I was already attacked by a harpy. I'm not going through that again!"

"Then don't follow me ," Sebastian stated plainly, "You can sit here and wait all by yourselves for us to come back. Assuming that you'll still even be here when we do come back, I'll tell you all about it. It's your choice, really."

With that Sebastian turned on his heel and descended, ledge by ledge into the realm below them. One by one the immortals followed him, until Ashe and Angela were left all alone on the ledge. Eventually Angela stood up.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ashe inquired.

"I'm following them," Angela replied, "You can come too, if you want."

The female angel didn't even wait for response. She even took the risk of flying to catch up with the group, leaving Ashe behind. The male angel continued to sit alone, watching the fire as he tried to make up his mind. It wasn't until he noticed the flames of the fire beginning to die down that he finally stood up.

"Wait for me!"

* * *

Hell; a place where the souls of the damned are cast to spend all of eternity to suffer physically, mentally, and emotionally at the hands of cruel demons. A place supposedly of fire and brimstone. Once you are cast in, there was no way out.

This was not what William, Ciel, and the other immortals were seeing, however. This was a place of demons; lots of demons. Demons talking to one another, demon children playing outside their homes in the dirt, hellish animals trotting up to the group and watching them curiously before prancing away. This was a place much like the human realm, just with a daemonic twist to it.

Other demons stopped to stare as the group passed through. Some dipped their heads in respect and made way for Sebastian while others just glared at him and the others. The raven demon didn't seem to acknowledge that much and pressed on without breaking stride.

"Exactly what is Sebastian status in this world?" Ciel inquired.

"He is Lord Raum's eighth child," Hannah replied, "He's very smart, very noble, and very well-respected. He's Raum's favorite."

"Second favorite," Sebastian corrected, "My father has a heart for my baby sister, as do I."

"Where do they live?" Ciel asked.

Sebastian was silent. He paused momentarily before turning to him, "I don't know."

"What do you mean? You don't know where your own family lives?"

"That's exactly what I mean. For your information, I have not set foot in Hell for several centuries. Even when you summoned me, I was not in Hell. I was lounging about in the luxury of some desolate rocky cliffs, enjoying the peace and quiet. I was away for so long, and the lives of my family don't stop for me, nor should they. It's likely they've moved to a new nest. I just have to find them, or perhaps wait to be found."

Ciel nodded in understanding and continued on in silence.

"So where exactly are you taking us?" Ashe spoke up from his frightened form firmly pressed in the middle of the group.

"We're going to more sacred lands," Sebastian replied, "A place in this realm were even Lucifer bows down."

They came upon a hill. Standing at the base of this hill stood an old hag in a flowing black cloak. Her hood was up and her gnarly gray hair covered her face and grew out to her chest. A pale, shaking hand lifted up and pointed at Sebastian and she spoke to him in Latin; the same language the demon had been mumbling hysterically in earlier. The hag sounded angry at him and seemed to threaten him as she made erratic gestures with her hands and her scraggly voice grew into a harsh and bitter tone as she spoke to him.

Rather than hold his ground and try to defend himself from this possible threat, Sebastian lumbered towards her on his hands and feet with his head bowed. He looked much like a dog that was in trouble; sulking with his tail between his legs. He knelt before the hag on his knees, emitting a soft purring sound from the depths of his throat.

His actions seem to calm the old hag and she rested her hands on his head, patting him and stroking him as if he were a child. She spoke to him as if he were a child; cooing and using soft tones. Sebastian brought his hands up and ran his fingers through the gnarly locks of her hair. They seem to carry on a conversation, forgetting all about the group.

"What exactly are they doing? Grell asked.

"He's being respectful," Undertaker stated, "Unlike most beings, demons respect their elders, and this old widow is much, much older than Sebastian. My guess: a millennium or two."

"How is this being respectful? He's acting like a child."

"If he were to simply ignore her, he would have been showing her disrespect, and that's a big no–no in Hell. We're all going to have to let her baby us to get through."

Once the old hag had finished with Sebastian she nudged him along. As he turned his back to her, however, she swung the old wooden cane she'd been leaning on and smacked him good and hard against his rump. Sebastian let out a grunt of discomfort before moving along.

Undertaker approached next, but with his older age he did not bow to her as Sebastian had. The old Reaper dipped his head and respect and shook hands with the elder demoness. She sent him along quickly.

In the end, she had hit Claude across the head with her cane. She knocked her fist against Hannah's head. She gave Thompson a rough pat on the head. She had roughly pulled Grell's hair. She gave William a rough shove forward. She had also given Ronald a good hard smack across his rump. She had playfully pinched Ciel's cheeks. As for Ashe and Angela – who were scared shitless by this point – the old hag simply sent them along.

"What was all that for?" Ciel asked Sebastian as they began climbing the hill.

"I don't know, " Sebastian replied, "The only way I've been able to figure it is the more it hurts, the more she likes you."


	12. CH11:In the case of Sebastian Michaelis

**Chapter 11: Sebastian Michaelis**

The climb over the hill was exhausting. Many of the reapers had resorted to bounding up the path in the same manner they crossed the rooftops. Ashe and Angela use their wings to keep themselves moving. Claude scaled the path with his spiderlike legs. Sebastian carried Ciel in his arms and Thompson and Hannah simply put up with walking.

The group stopped at the top of the hill and took in the sight that laid in front of them. While the land of they had come from was a grand and full of life, the land of that lay in front of them was dead; an ugly mixture of greys and browns. Looking closer, they were able to make out the shapes of corpses lying on the ground. The land itself smells like rotting bodies.

"Why did you bring us here?" Claude asked.

"The answers to all your questions can be answered here," Sebastian explained, "It's just a matter of finding the right corpse."

The group descended into the old boneyard. Around them, there were beings that knelt beside bodies, grieving. A child – demon knelt beside a fallen demoness, likely his mother. A male demon held another as he tried to keep himself from shedding tears. A demoness knelt beside the form of a deceased child as she cried into her hands.

"This is where our kind bring our dead," Sebastian said, "and some demons sensing death coming will call here to spare any sort of trouble."

"Most of us know what this place is," Hannah pointed out, "But why are we he-?"

The demoness was cut off by the sight of a corpse Sebastian had stopped beside. It was just a skeleton now, but even Hannah knew the physical appearance this particular person had held; long brown hair, amber eyes, clawed hands, and a long, slender, and furry tail. Her hands and feet still had a paw like appearance to them. The teeth in the skull were narrow, small, and sharp. The clothing they'd been wearing had worn away into a burlap sort of appearance.

"Who is this?" Angela asked.

Sebastian sank to his knees and ran a hand over the skull, "Her name was Carmilla."

Only Hannah and William did not hold a look of confusion on their faces. They waited in silence for the Raven demon to continue.

"Carmilla was a cat demon whom I fell in love with after I had left William. I had always loved cats. Meeting Carmilla had made me incredibly happy. But, one day, she had going out somewhere and was attacked by the vicious demon hound called Cerberus; a three headed dog. By the time I had found her, she was already dead." Sebastian was silent momentarily, struggling to maintain his composure, "This is why I really hate dogs and why I'm so fond of cats. Someday, though, I will avenge Carmilla's death. Even if I die trying to kill Cerberus myself, it's much better than living all of eternity in mourning."

Sebastian went silent as his head bowed.

"I found out about this some 200 years later," William stated, "The depression this caused him was bad. He wouldn't go anywhere or talk to anyone. In his grief, he spread the Black Death across Europe and wasn't seen again for quite a few decades."

"Maybe you should let Sebastian tell the story," Angela stated, "These are his confessions, not yours."

The Reaper nodded quietly as he turned back to Sebastian. However, Sebastian was still caught up in his mourning. He would not look at them, talk to them, or even acknowledge them. It was very clear that he had gone back into that sad state of depression.

"We can give you some time to recoup, if you'd like," Hannah said, "I know this must be hard on you."

Sebastian let out a ragged sigh, "Just go back to where we were before. I will be along soon enough."

* * *

Nobody knows how long the others had been waiting on the ledge. It had been quite some time as many of them had fallen asleep and had woken up several times. Ciel and William had made suggestions to go back out and look for him, but several others disagreed. He could have been morning and half dead, nobody figured Sebastian was so helpless that he had to be rescued himself.

After a couple more hours had passed, they began to hear the faint sound of footsteps approaching from the areas where they had returned from down below. Sebastian was slowly making his way back towards them. He still looked distressed, but he looked somewhat over it at the same time. Nobody said a word as he came into their site. They were afraid that saying anything that wasn't welcome would have provoked bad memories and would send him into a fit.

Sebastian sat down next to William and sighed softly, "What did I miss?"

"Nothing," Ciel said , "We were all waiting for you."

Sebastian hummed, "How kind."

The reply was sarcastic, which meant that he was somewhat back to his old self. He wasn't caught up in the sadness he'd been feeling earlier; where he was unresponsive and was in his own little world.

"Now I can answer your question, Claude," Sebastian remarked, "Although you're probably not going to like hearing what I'm going to say."

Claude nodded and braced himself for whatever he was about to be told by the raven demon.

"You are the product of William and myself," he began, "William had never known about your pregnancy, and he was beyond furious with me when he found out that I had given you away."

"He didn't think I would find out, was what it was," William commented.

"Nonetheless, I made sure you went to a good home where I knew you would be taken care of. I was not prepared to raise a child, and I knew that trying to raise you by myself would've been a losing battle. Shelob, I knew, would take care of you. Some kind of screw came loose in your head that turned you into a greedy son-of-a-bitch trying to steal things that didn't belong to you, but I know you could have turned out worse."

"I'll take that as a compliment then," Claude stated, "Why didn't you bring any of this up earlier? It probably would've saved you in the long run. That whole flight between us probably never would've happened and you wouldn't be in the position you're in right now."

It has been a while since Sebastian had scorched his trademarks smirk, and he was glad to now let it spread across his face.

"I thought it would be better if you didn't know. A man that is happy with his life will die happy. A demon that's happy with his life, even more so. My presence seemed to royally piss you off, so I figured that if I wasn't in the way then you could be happy."

Claude shook his head, "You are stupid! Do you really think that I would have put my master before you had I known you were my true birth-parent?"

Sebastian gained the gall to laugh.

"If you had, then you wouldn't be one Hell of a butler."


	13. Chapter 12: Limbo

**Chapter 12: Limbo**

Nearly done. With three more members of the group left to go, the immortals new that they were close to freedom. All that was left was for Hannah, Ciel, and Claude to confess. They had been trapped in Hell for at least a week; much longer than any of them would have liked. It was high time for all of them to be freed and return to their normal, daily lives.

Even so, Sebastian's words still rang and Ciel's head; about how he was still much too young to be harboring secrets that the butler didn't already know and about how he might not even be able to go, as he did not hold a true form that reflected his true nature, as of yet. But, if Ciel wasn't able to reveal his true form and confess his secrets, that would likely mean that the group was still stuck in Hell. What could he do? Could he just make something up? Would it just narrow down to him telling the other immortals what they possibly already knew? Or would he just be stuck in this limbo until something came along?

Ciel was not alone in his worries. Hannah and Claude had their own doubts, too. They'd been reincarnated for this purpose; confession. Not because Lucifer had a use for them. Not because they were lucky. Confession; that was all. Did that mean that when this was over they would be struck down again? Or would they go back to leading the normal lives of demons?

Claude, especially, was concerned. He had been struck down in battle by a demon sword; by a member of his own family, no less. It was a blow on his pride, his reputation, and, ultimately, on his body. He had a horrific scar on his chest – one that he hadn't allowed the others to see – that marked him as proof of that battle. Other demons would find out. Other demons would mock him. Somewhere in his head he was telling himself he wished he could remain dead.

Occasionally, the three remaining demons would glance at each other, as if expecting them to suddenly volunteer. The others sat in silence as they waited. Sebastian had restored the fire, as it had burned out while they had been away. The Grim Reaper's had fallen asleep. Thompson rubbed his heavy set of horns against the rock of the canyon wall, keeping them sharp. Ashe and Angela had assumed that their position in their own little corner. Claude pass the time away by burning twigs in the fire, watching wood smolder and turn to ash. Hannah was humming quietly to herself; a soft little tune that slowly lulled the others to sleep. Ciel amused himself by dropping palm-sized rocks off of the ledge of the cliff and seeing where they would land. It would take a few seconds before a dull thud would be heard from below, or a hiss from the magma, or a curse from a demon that must have been standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In the distance, a howl sounded ; wolf-like in nature and loud, as if it were on the hunt. The sound made Sebastian turn his head from the fire and he snarled.

"Cerberus."

"How do you know it's him?" Ciel inquired, "It could just be a plain old demon hound."

Sebastian shook his head , "I'd know any sound that mongrel would dare to utter off the top of my head. He's hunting, alright. It could be a harpy or some other poor demon."

"Sebastian, I realize the death of Carmilla upset you, but . . ."

"Upset? No, master, the death of Carmilla did not merely upset me. It ruined me."

"What?"

"There was one thing that I neglected to mention when we were in the boneyard. At the time she died, she was also pregnant with my children. I didn't find out about it until after she died and I found this," Sebastian held up an old sheet of paper that was folded for ways. He handed it to Ciel, "Read it."

Ciel nodded and unfolded the paper carefully. It was stained with tears and smudged with dirt and grime from many years of being carried around handled. The words were written in blue ink and neat cursive; clearly written carefully and with a lot of thought given to the words.

_To My Dearest Michaelis,_

_ I'm sorry that I have to leave on such short notice. My father has fallen ill and I must help my mother care for him. Please don't worry. I'll be home soon._

_On another note, I also have wonderful news. Remember the blood moon? Remember the life we always talked about; with a home and children? Well, we can have that now! You're going to be a father, Michaelis. Isn't that that wonderful?_

_With all my heart, I'll love you forever._

_Until I return._

_Your Darling Kitten ,_

_Carmilla_

Ciel carefully refolded the paper and the looked back at Sebastian, who stared blankly into the flames of the fire.

"I'm sorry, Sebastian."

Sebastian let out a soft sigh, "She was . . . a fool."

"How so?"

"I told her. I told her not to take the path through the mountains where Cerberus and Chimaera lived, but she didn't listen; and this is what happened. If I had removed the portion of the dress that had been covering her abdomen, it would have revealed the bones of the two tiny infants she'd been carrying."

Ciel found himself without the breath to speak; not only at what he was being told, but also at the fact that Sebastian had yet to lose his composure. He was sad and still grieving, but he had yet to shed a single tear. Some part of the boy admired him for this, another part yearned for the stoic older demon to lose it. Not like he had when he fought Claude earlier. What did it look like when a demon allowed his being to unleash all of his sorrow? Or were demons incapable of feeling those kinds of emotions?


	14. Chapter 13:In the case of Claude Faustus

**Chapter 13: Claude Faustus**

Claude had been listening to Sebastian and Ciel's conversation from a short distance away. His mind was still struggling to come to terms with recognizing Sebastian as family, but knowing he could have had two half siblings did upset him. Yes, he had thousands of adopted siblings that Shelob had bore over several centuries, but he only knew a small handful by name. Listening to the Raven demon had brought him to a definite conclusion. He was ready.

The spider demon stood up and move to the center of the group.

"Well, this is a surprise," Sebastian remarked, "You're finally ready to talk?"

"It can't be avoided, can it?" Claudia replied, "best to get it done and over with . . . well? Wake up!"

The reapers were jostled from their sleep and set up inattention. Thompson finished sharpening his horns and face the spider demon. All eyes were on him.

"Obviously, my true form is revealed to you," he started, flexing his spiderlike limbs and flaunting the ugly gray color of his skin, "Most of my secrets have been revealed; even some I had never known, myself. I was reincarnated for the sake of this, so I should consider myself lucky to even be alive."

Sebastian hummed to himself, smirking slightly, "and do explain exactly what kind of faith you met that killed you in the first place."

Claude scowled at him and crossed his arms, So my greed got the best of me. I killed my previous master and stored his soul in a ring for the sake of having Ciel Phantomhive's soul for myself. Then the brat wound up making a contract with Hannah whilst he was still in control of Ciel's body. I was forced to battle Sebastian, and I had lost. And here I am now, telling you this story."

Hannah snickered, "From my perspective, it was all pretty comical."

"Well, you weren't a part of the butt-end of that little joke," Sebastian stated, "Try being in Claude's position and taking a demon sword to the chest," his eyes briefly veered over to Ciel, "Or try being in my possession and serving under an eternal contract."

Ciel picked up on the bitter tone in Sebastian's voice and his eyes narrowed at the butler, but he chose not to speak.

"In any event," Claude continued, "That happened."

"You're a bit overbearing as a butler, though," Ciel commented, "In the short time you served me, I had to kick you in the face for kissing my foot, scold you for gagging me with a toothbrush, and nag at you for both blaming the sound of a loud crash outside on a cat. You're almost as cheeky Sebastian . . ." his eyes glanced over at his butler, who still sat quietly next to William, " . . . almost."

Many snickers at the accusations Ciel had thrown at the spider demon , but they were accusations he could not deny.

"I was just as bad as Alois in terms of how I treated you," Claude confessed, "Not exactly the same, but close." He took a moment to polish the lenses to his glasses , "I'm extremely farsighted. I can get around without making a mess of things, but I can see far clearer with my spectacles."

"Is that why you asked for them when you died?" Sebastian inquired.

"Yes."

William shook his head, "You definitely inherited my god-awful eyesight."

Sebastian chuckled , "I believe he is a more coordinated then you want it narrows down to getting around without spectacles, though. You could never find them sitting on the night stand, _right next to you_, without knocking over two lamps, a picture frame, tripping over a slipper, and finally knocking your spectacles to the floor."

The group erupted in laughter. Even William couldn't help but chuckle. Sebastian statement, though heavily exaggerated, was not wholly incorrect.

"Well," Claude said, "I will admit that every great once in a while I will flip the house upside down looking for my spectacles."

The laughter grew.

"I always wanted to ask, though, " Hannah spoke up, "Why do you tap dance?"

Claude shrugged, "That's sort of a stress reliever. I'm actually a very hyper and jittery demon, so tap dancing helps release any energy building up."

Shocked expression circulated within the group. Claude? Hyper and jittery? For a man who was so plain and lacking in facial expressions, he could have been described as anything but hyper and jittery.

"I'm also very fond of the outdoors," Claude continued, "Thus I bring up your statement earlier, Sebastian, about being the demon of the fairy princesses. I talk to birds and toy with flowers because birds don't talk back and most flowers are rather beautiful. Is it wrong for demon to prefer these things?"

Sebastian shook his head, "You take after your father. William does the same thing. Plus, I shouldn't speak too boldly. My liking for cats can be considered . . . excessive."

Ciel scoffed, "Twelve closet cats is what you call 'excessive'?"

And once more, the laughter grew.


	15. Chapter14:In the case of Hannah Anafeloz

**Chapter 14: Hannah Anafeloz**

"I volunteer Miss Hannah to go next,"

Hannah with her head around to Claude, glaring at him menacingly, "Why me?"

"There are only two of us left," Ciel pointed out, "And, until I find something to say for myself, you are the only one who was able to go."

"And if Ira fuse?"

Sebastian snorted irritably, "Then we're stuck here."

Ronald sat down next to Hannah, "C'mon, demon lady. We all went. Now it's your turn."

Hannah twiddled her fingers as she thought over her options. It was either she'd go now and bring them all be a step closer to gaining their freedom, or she didn't go and waited until Ciel went or they'd stay trapped here forever.

"Fine," she finally sighed.

"Why all this reluctance?" Ronald inquired.

"Because my true form is disgusting."

"_Your _true form is disgusting?" Sebastian sneered with a cocked eyebrow, "Five years ago I accidentally dropped a needle and thread in a clump of my matted feathers. Still haven't found it; and I've gone to and from my True Form multiple times."

Hannah shook her head, "That has nothing to do with it. And how do you know that needle and thread then just drop out somewhere?"

Sebastian smirked, "Because every great once in a while, I'll feel that needle prick me somewhere."

Hannah rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

"Oh, like you never lost something in that mile-deep cleavage of yours?"

Hannah's face flushed bright red and she delivered a vicious slap to the Phantomhive butler's face.

"Stop doing that!" She hissed.

"Doing want?"

". . . being funny."

Those words made all heads turned to the lavender-haired demoness. All eyes were focused intensely on her, especially William's.

"You think I'm funny?" Sebastian inquired with a sly smile.

Hannah's blush darkened, "Yes. It's not every day that I meet a demon with a sense of humor."

Sebastian chuckled , "Well, I'll admit it isn't every day that I meet a demon that can completely swallow a sword that's larger than her body."

"I don't like to brag. It's not exactly the most comfortable situation in the world."

To unsheath a demon sword involved another demon having to maneuver their hand down the others throat and yank the weapon out of the hidden depths within. It was a nasty business and normally painful for the demon sheathing the weapon.

"How on earth are you able to move with that sword inside of you?" Grell asked.

"It's difficult to explain," Hannah remarked, "In a sense the sword is and is not there at the same time. The sword only takes its physical form inside of me if it's needed."

"Then how does it become sheathed again?" Angela inquired , "If a simple cut from the sword can permanently injure any immortal being, then swallowing it down again could possibly kill you!"

"I've swallowed swords before," Sebastian piped up, "I imagine it's not much different."

Hannah shrugged, "I don't know. I've never swallowed a regular sword before."

Without warning, Sebastian tilted his head back and he took two fingers into the back of his throat. He slowly pulled out a double edged steel sword with a handle that was decorated in gold and gems.

William was shocked, "How long have you had that?"

"Since King Arthur's time," the raven demon replied, "That's a long story on its own, but much like Hannah is the sheath to the demon sword, I am the sheath of the sword."

And with that, the magnificent sword vanished back down the demons gullet.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask this," Claude spoke up, "Thompson did tell us why he chose to accompany you at all times, but you've never told us why you allow him to stay."

The Minotaurs head lifted at the mention of his name and his eyes locked with Hannah.

"Thompson was a young thing when I first saw him," Hannah said, "He had been injured by Cerberus and left to die. I guess you could say I took him in and nursed him back to health. He hasn't left my side since then."

Sebastian sympathized with Hannah at the mention of Cerberus. Finding something that they had in common was ultimately what tied demons together, aside from the usual things such as preferences in souls and making trouble. Attacks by Cerberus seemed to be the common ground here.

Hannah moved to excuse herself from the center of the group and bring her confessions to an end, but Sebastian stopped her and nudged her back into the center.

"What?" The demoness hissed, "I'm finished."

Sebastian shook his head, "No, you're not. Not until you show us what you demon form looks like."

Hannah let out a frustrated huff , "Fine. But I warned to you; it's disgusting."

Hannah's soft purple and white maid's uniform slowly fell away into something completely different. Like all demons, her clothing was black; long gloves, thigh-high heel-less boots, and a one-piece outfit that held tightly to her curvaceous figure. Her hair was completely down and two roses with black thorns had been added for decoration.

Everyone stared in awe at her; everyone but the angels, that is, who looked away just as soon as they had gotten an eye full of the newly transformed demoness.

"Damn," Claude commented, "I had completely forgotten that that's your demon form. Very impressive!"

"Stop it," Hannah said teasingly, "I feel gross and getting around is such a balancing act with these boots."

"A balancing act, huh?" Sebastian piped up, "The heels to my boots are 4 1/2 inches high and are as big around as a lady's pinky finger. Sure, your boots might be a balancing act, but I doubt you have to deal with the pain I go through in my boots on a regular basis."

Hannah scoffed, "Let's try trading boots for weekend and see what happens!"

Undertaker laughed, "That's a little obscene, don't you think?"

The two demon shot him a questioning glance, "What?"

"Have you ever noticed how the boots of a male demon have heels while the females do not? I suppose you can call it the ultimate gender identifier. Since demons can take on many different forms and genders, sometimes the original gender is forgotten. The heeled footwear of a demons true form is the only real identification for demons."

"How on earth can a demon possibly forget their original gender?" Ronald inquired.

"It's not unheard of, "Sebastian stated, "I know of a few male demons what spent a few millennia in female form, and all of a sudden they forgot that they were males. I guess it just takes a whole lot of pretending to forget altogether."

"That's just weird. You can't be serious."

"I've also seen it happen," Hannah piped up, "a friend of mine – also a demoness – lost a bet and was forced to live as a male for 3000 years. Now she's a female demon with male demon issues. It's disturbingly sad, annoying, and hysterical. In any event, what the undertaker said about the boots is true." She turned back to Sebastian, "I'm sorry about what I said."

"As a my," Sebastian nodded, "We all have our own personal struggles; be at with hair, clothing, feathers, or other appearances . . . Or, maybe, even with certain beings."


	16. CH15: In the case of Ciel Phantomhive

**Chapter 15: Ciel Phantomhive **

Ciel was beginning to feel the mounting pressure of not having anything to say. He was the only one left to reveal his true form and tell any secrets he might be hiding, but that was just the problem; he didn't have a demon form or any secrets he was keeping. But he was the only thing standing in the way of the rest of the group's freedom.

"This isn't fair," the child-demon hissed, "We're all going to be stuck down here just because I'm a newly formed demon who hasn't done anything yet."

The others looked at each other.

"Make something up," Ronald suggested, "Say something crazy, like you shagged your butler, or a maid; anything!"

Both Sebastian and Ciel let out a disgusted gag.

"I'm not going to say that, because it isn't true!" Ciel stated irritably.

"Damn right, it's not!" Sebastian agreed, his shoulders shaking as his skin crawled.

Ciel thought. He thought through his thoughts until he thought he wouldn't be able to think another thought. Sebastian knew about everything that had happened to him within the past three years . . .

. . . Within the past three years. That was it!

"I've got it!" Ciel exclaimed, "There is only one thing that I've never told anyone; not Elizabeth, not the Queen . . . not even you, Sebastian."

The raven demon turned to him with a shocked expression on his face. Just when he thought he knew everything there was to know about his young master, turns out he'd be proven wrong.

"Do tell," Undertaker urged, "This sounds like it's going to get interesting."

Ciel moved to the center of the group.

"I don't have a true form," he began, "I can show you my red demon eyes, but that's all. The one secret I've kept hidden about myself goes as far back as to when I was being held captive by my captors. I was not the only Phantomhive boy that was there. I had . . . a twin brother called Ancel."

Sebastian's eyes were wide and his mouth hung open in shock.

"This is what I never told you," Ciel continued, "Haven't you ever wondered how you were summoned? How "I" had been sacrificed to summon you, but was in the cage with the other children when you came? That's because the boy that was sacrificed wasn't me, it was my brother."

Of all the moments of silence that had fallen upon the group, the silence that had fallen upon the group now was the most deafening.

Sebastian's eyes veered to the ground and a small noise escaped him; a wheezing sort of sound. Slowly, it grew louder. It started off as just wheezing, which grew into giggling, and then quiet laughing, and then laughing and sobbing. Ciel wasn't sure if he should be concerned or scared, or whether those emotions were directed towards Sebastian or himself.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" Ciel asked, "Why are you laughing?"

Sebastian attempted to recompose himself, but the tears fell heavier from his eyes, "Because I already know everything about that,Young Master."

Ciel's eyes widened in shock, "How?"

"That night, you were asleep and Ancel was sitting up awake. He summoned me by chanting the cursed words over a stray raven's feather. I asked him for his wish, and . . ." The concerning mixture of laughter and sobbing intensified slightly , " . . . and he told me he wanted me to keep you safe from those rotten pedophiles. He said he knew they planned on using you as the next sacrifice, and he went so far as to summon me to keep that from happening."

"How can that be possible?" Grell asked , "If the two of them look exactly the same, how did the pedophiles tell the difference between them?"

Ciel's gaze veered to the ground, "Our clothes . . . Now it all makes sense."

"Indeed," Sebastian confirmed, "You and Ancel wore different shirts to tell you apart. To fulfill his wish, I recommended that they switched shirts, that way they'd see Ancel as his brother and vice versa."

Ciel remembered that night well, but he had not understood all this time why Ancel had wanted to change shirts. And when he'd been sacrificed, Sebastian had returned to fulfill his end of the deal with Ancel; to keep Ciel safe, and for him that meant forming an official contract.

"Ancel . . . sacrificed himself to save me . . ." Ciel muttered to himself.

"Alright, we get that," Ronald said, "But why is the raven over there acting like a loon?"

Sebastian chuckled, "It's just ironic, is all."

"How is it ironic?"

"Because before Ancel sacrificed himself, I warned him not to do it. Sure, I could protect his brother, but a contract? _He_ was the one who was supposed to make the contract! But he didn't. Instead, he just tells me he wants his brother to be safe and a way to make their captors think he was Ciel. Rather than just forming the contract, I gave him a brief answer; something I saw as stupid or silly, and it worked. So Ancel got what he wanted in the end."

"That might explain everything," Ciel said carefully, "But it still doesn't explain why you're crying."

A hard look settled on Sebastian's face as he made eye contact with Ciel.

"Don't you find it odd how all this time I've been ordered to never lie to you or anyone, yet that is all I really receive in return?"

"What?"

"Ancel originally told me he'd wouldn't offer himself up as a sacrifice, which was a lie. The times you told me of the things you did were because of your loyalty to the Queen, another lie. When I had been fighting Ashe on the bridge when you had been mortally wounded, you told me you would hold on until I counted down, which was a lie. As honest as I'm forced to remain to you, you tell an awful amount of lies, Young Master."

Ciel's eyes veered to his feet, "Well, sometimes . . . I lie."

Sebastian's eyelids became heavy as he sat himself on the ground.

"Are you alright?" William inquired.

The raven demon let out a soft sigh, "I'm tired. 500 years without sleep, it's way overdue."

* * *

Sebastian wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep. All he knew was that he'd been woken up by someone shaking his shoulder urgently.

"Sebastian? Sebastian, wake up!"

He recognized the voice as Hannah's. He wondered idly what the demoness was doing waking him up. What was so urgent that he had to be woken up? Why was someone going through the trouble? And why did he have this awful feeling that it was something bad?

The raven demon rolled himself over to face her, " What is it? What's wrong?"

Even Hannah looked troubled.

"Ciel . . . Ciel's gone missing!"


	17. Chapter 16: Lost

**Chapter 16: Lost**

"What do you mean Ciel's gone missing?!"

This was not surprising to Sebastian. Ciel had a reputation for suddenly vanishing; either kidnapped or because he had wandered off on his own somewhere. If they'd been back in London, under any other considerably normal circumstances, Sebastian wouldn't have cared. Being in Hell, however, Sebastian could only imagine what might've happened to his master. He could have just wandered off, a harpy could have snatched him, the Hydra could have swallowed him up, a siren could've lured him away, another demon could've kidnapped him, or Cerberus . . .

Sebastian clenched his fists at the thought of the dog that had taken his wife and unborn children from him. All this time they'd been trapped down here, Sebastian had been at war with himself over his master. He hated him and wished he'd die; however, there was a part of them that had surfaced during his years as a butler, a part of him that was extremely protective of Ciel. He was almost positive it was a lingering portion of Ancel's soul that had become part of them.

Sebastian paced back-and-forth on the ledge and scratched his head; feathers ruffling and heels clicking against the stone beneath him.

"Did anyone _see_ where he went?" the raven inquired.

Undertaker was the only one to answer.

"Everyone was asleep. I decided to stay up and keep watch. Sometime in the night, the little lord got up at some point and started to wonder off. When I asked where he was going, he told me he was going to go for a walk. Didn't say when he'd be back, but he said he needed some time to clear his mind."

Sebastian continued to pace nervously.

"I have to find him," he said, "He might irritate me most of the time and he deserves whatever he might face without me, but I can't let him die out there. It would be an absolute disgrace to my position as a butler."

Sebastian disappeared from the ledge and bounded into the room below.

"Shouldn't we, you know, follow him?" Ronald asked.

Ashe scoffed, "It's _his_ master! If he wants to go find him, I'll let him. He doesn't need to drag the rest of us down with them."

"I think we need to think about this with clearer minds," Hannah stated, "What if Ciel, for whatever reason, went looking for Cerberus? The boy could be killed! And if he's killed by Cerberus, I'm positive Sebastian would fight the demon hound until either he exacted his revenge or died trying."

"You call that thinking with a clear head?" Grell inquired, "You make it sound like whatever's going to happen to him is going to be bad. Knowing Bassy, he'll probably come back here in a couple of hours with that brat in his arms like he always does."

William shook his head, "Haven't you all forgotten where we are? I know better than any Reaper that any number of things can go horribly bad here. It's better if we stop all this arguing and just go. Even if he doesn't need us, it's better than leaving him to do all this on his own."

* * *

Ciel had found a secluded place in the mountains to be by himself. He huffed and puffed for breath, almost as if he were about to have an asthma attack. But, really, he was just trying to find himself. There had to be a true form hidden somewhere inside of him. He figured he just had to will it forward.

"Come on," he told himself, "Whatever this façade is that you're keeping up, drop it; drop it right now!"

Anyone that would have watched this would have thought the child-demon had gone insane. He was talking to himself, pacing back-and-forth. He'd pace back-and-forth, kick rocks, throw rocks, closes eyes tightly and focus really, really hard in some wild attempt to will this true form forward, with no success.

Of course he had to take Sebastian's words into consideration; how his true form wouldn't come about until his true nature as a demon was defined. How long would that take him, he wondered? Days? Weeks? Months? Decades? Centuries?

"Come on," he growled at himself, "I don't want to be the reason we have to stay down here! Drop the act!"

Ciel tried once more to will some sort of true form forward, and he nearly threw himself off of the edge of the mountain trying to do so. When his last attempt failed, the child-demon sat himself on the ground. Exhausted and now strangely hungry, he debated whether he should start walking back towards the group, only to find that he wasn't sure of where he was.

Brilliant! Now he was exhausted, hungry, and lost. Of course this didn't doom him. If he knew Sebastian, the butler had likely noticed his absence by now and had likely gone out to look for him. So long as he didn't make things more difficult by moving to and fro and getting himself even more lost, everything would be okay.

* * *

Sebastian alternated between running on foot and flying around in the air in search for his master. He'd been attacked by several harpies searching their nests for the boy, or what could have possibly remained of him. He beat the hydra into a tender hunk of flesh to get the beast to regurgitate whatever it had eaten recently. He flew over the lands where of sirens were located and searched over any freshly picked bones there. He had made several inquiries to other demons if they'd seen a small child-demon with fine black clothes and an eyepatch wondering about. Everywhere he searched he came up empty-handed, which only made him fear the worst.

With no other options left, he alternated his course and started in the direction towards the mountains where Cerberus lived.

"Young Master, where are you?"

* * *

Ciel sat about for quite a bit of time, waiting. He tossed rocks randomly into the realm of Hell below him. He'd feel oddly satisfied whenever he'd hear a loud cry of pain followed by an angry curse. How utterly like him as he remembered all the times he'd throw darts at the servants of his mansion. He especially loved it whenever he'd hit Sebastian, because it was a rare occurrence that the butler allowed himself to have his guard so low that he couldn't see a simple dart coming.

As he came out of his thoughts, Ciel was suddenly aware of a peculiar feeling; the feeling that he was being watched. He looked around, but saw nobody. Not a soul, demon, or creature in sight.

Looking behind him, his eyes settled on a cave that sat a few feet above him. Through the darkness, Ciel made out three pairs of glowing red eyes. A low growl erupted from the mouth of the cave. From the shadows emerged three very large wolflike heads. All three heads belonged to one massive, muscular body. Paws were as big as dinner plates, a tail as long as a grown human, claws as long as a man's index finger, and fur as black as charcoal.

This was the creature Sebastian hated so openly.

Cerberus.


	18. Chapter 17: Bruises and Bitemarks

**Chapter 17: Bruises and Bitemarks **

"Are you sure you haven't seen him?"

Before stooping to search the mountains where Cerberus lived, Sebastian traveled back to the base of the hill where the old hag stood. He hope that, by some slim chance, Ciel, for whatever reason, had gone there and he was with her. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

"I already told you, Michaelis," the old hag replied in her usual, raspy voice, "I haven't seen that little boy of yours since you and your friends passed through here a couple of days ago."

Sebastian paced back-and-forth nervously, scratching his head. He had officially searched all of Hell for his master; all but one place, and it was the one place he'd been trying to avoid going to all this time.

"Then I have no choice . . ."

The hag rested one of her wilted hands on his shoulders, "All these years and it's still all about Cerberus?"

Sebastian shook his head, "You know how I feel about that stupid dog. He's taken too many lives. Someone has to stand up to him."

"Michaelis . . . He'll kill you!"

Sebastian frowned, "Maybe he will, but he'll be able to kill Ciel with a single snap of any one of his jaws. And I'm still under a contract to that brat, and I promised him I'd protect him even at the cost of my life. I have to find him, otherwise I am guilty of betraying that promise."

* * *

Cerberus's eyes locked firmly onto Ciel's as he slowly stalked down towards him from his cave. The dominant head, the one in the middle, growled lowly while the other two snapped at him.

Ciel had begun backing away from the three headed dog, not daring to look away lest Cerberus pounce on him when they broke eye contact.

"G-good dog . . . Nice dog . . ." Ciel said slowly.

A lover of dogs, he was torn. If Sebastian showed up in the nick of time like he always did, he would more than likely try to kill the three headed demon hound; an outcome of that, for some reason, he didn't wish for. However, it was obvious that this dog had every intention of killing him.

"Where the hell are you, Sebastian?"

Cerberus crouched low.

_Don't run. Don't run._

One of the heads licked its chops. The others growled.

_Don't run. Don't run._

Cerberus stopped creeping forward and his muscles tensed; tail whipping back-and-forth.

_Screw it!_

Ciel jumped up and took off at a full sprint. Cerberus barked and snarled as he galloped after him. Ciel descended down multiple ledges and beaten-down trails down the mountain. Cerberus followed him easily, clearing the ledges and trails in a single, surefooted bound.

Desperate to escape Cerberus, Ciel took a blind leap over the edge of the nearest ledge, not taking into consideration how high he was from the ground below. He freefell for a couple of seconds before landing hard on his back. The air was knocked out of his lungs instantly and his vision blurred, but he did not die; possibly the only advantage he had to the situation.

Of course, falling off of a cliff was something a child-demon didn't bounce back from so easily. Ciel's whole body hurt and he couldn't move, buying Cerberus a lot of time. The three headed dog climbed down the same cliff Ciel fell off of at a vertical angle.

_This is it. I'm done for!_

Ciel took a moment to look into the vicious beast's eyes before closing his. He could already see it coming down on him; mouth open wide, prepared to swallow him up. He waited for it. He waited for the pain; for death.

Then, there was a loud cry.

"**_Master_**!"

_Snap!_

The sound filled Ciel's ears. Teeth clamping together, bones breaking, flesh ripping, blood being forced out of wounds. Strangely enough, he felt no pain. He hadn't even been touched, had he?

Slowly, Ciel opened his eyes.

Cerberus's teeth were mere inches from his face. He could feel the dog's boiling hot breath pool from his nostrils and throat. He had something clamped in between his jaws; all three heads had their teeth sunken in to an unidentifiable dark mass.

With a quick toss of all three heads, Cerberus tossed the mass aside; throwing it several feet away. Ciel could make out _a few_ features. Black feathers, which covered him, Cerberus, and the ground. A slender figure. Pale skin. Painfully high high-heeled boots.

Ciel shook his head with denial as he crawled towards the shape, although he already knew what he was looking at, as the voice that had cried out "master" was, much to his discomfort, familiar to him.

He turned the figure over.

"Sebastian!"

The damage was brutal. Three sets of bite marks sank into his chest, abdomen, and legs. Feathers were stripped from various places, bones stuck out, and blood soaked the mats that covered him like they were sponges. The raven demon's wings were bent at odd angles. His body as a whole was mutilated.

Ciel took a firm hold of Sebastian's shoulders as he shook him.

"Sebastian? Sebastian, wake up! Sebastian!" His face fell as he received no response, "No . . . Y–you can't be . . ."

Ciel's eyes suddenly rolled to the back of his head as a violent cry of pain, loss, agony, rage, and hatred rose from his throat. The air surrounding them suddenly became very hot. Fire began to emerge and dance around the child demon until it lifted him to his feet.

In this fit of rage, he jumped onto Cerberus. His fingers mercilessly dug into the center head, crushing the skull and tearing out whatever brain matter there was within. The other two heads tried to snap at Ciel, but their attempts were useless. Ciel tore off the left head and ripped the jaws off of the right. Cerberus's muscular body fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

* * *

From far off, the rest of the group – Claude, Hannah, Thompson, Grell, Ronald, William, Ashe, Angela, and Undertaker – saw the flames and heard the massive thud. It had been strong enough that they felt the vibrations through the ground and it was loud enough that they could hear it.

"That was too big to have been Ciel, wasn't it?" Thompson piped up.

"And I'm guessing the brat can't breathe fire," Grell added, "Was that Cerberus?"

"I'm not sure," Claude remarked, scratching his head, "I don't know what that could have been."

The group exchanged questioning glances.

"Well, come on, then!" Hannah chimed, starting forward, "We're not going to figure this out by waiting around here and looking stupid!"

They wandered up the trail into Cerberus's mountains. They kept their guard up, just in case the three headed dog appeared out of nowhere and attacked of them. Some trails were easier to pass than others. Some had smooth layers of rock to act as steps, others were narrow with jagged rocks, and some had layers of loose stones on top of flat areas to walk on, making their feet slip out from under them at times.

Eventually, Claude stopped, "Hold on a second."

"What is it?" Hannah asked.

"I smell blood."

Everyone took the time to smell the air.

"I can smell it too," Hannah confirmed.

Thompson was able to nod with agreement, as did Grell, William, Undertaker, and the angels. Ronald, who was still rather new to reaping – despite his past experience with other reaping agencies - couldn't identify the sent everyone else had caught, but he nodded, nonetheless.

The group started forward once more, only in a bit more of a hurry and then they had been before.

They followed the smell of blood up several steep cliffs, through multiple narrow passes, and down countless rocky pathways until they reached the scene. Their eyes widened at what they saw.

Cerberus lay in a mass of multiple scattered body parts; his legs torn off, flesh partially burnt, a head tossed to the side, a jaw and a tongue lying on the ground, and the tail had been severed and was stuck in the branches of a tree limb. The ground was soaked in blood. Beyond the beast's body, Ciel was crouched beside Sebastian's still form but the child's appearance had changed.

From Ciel's back sprouted a pair of wings with red, orange, and yellow feathers. Amber flames danced between locks of his hair. Clothing adorned in feathers that matched his wings replaced the black human clothes he'd once been wearing. Golden claws grew out from his fingers. What stunned them most was the fact that Ciel was glowing with an aura composed of flames.

"What is this?" Angela asked, awestruck.

"This is his true form, " Undertaker replied " He's a Phoenix!"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE 4/6/15**

"To everyone who is bawling because Sebastian's dead, save your tears for the next chapter and judge me in the reviews. I'm not going to answer any questions involving that one thing.

The whole phoenix idea was given to me by one of my reviewers (thanks, btw) Until I was given that idea, even I didn't know what I was going to do for Ciel's true form. Thanks to all for sticking around this long."

**-BlueRaven666**


	19. Chapter 18: Still Here

**Chapter 18: Still Here**

Ciel buried his face into Sebastian's still chest. He felt overwhelmed with emotion; sadness, anger, confusion, and despair, to name a few. Something inside of him kept telling him that it wasn't true; that Sebastian wasn't dead. But no matter how many times he kept telling himself this – no matter how much he wanted this feeling to be true – as he looked over the raven demon's mutilated body, he knew it was true.

There was a somber vibe in the air as realization struck the group. The reason Ciel was still alive was because Sebastian had thrown himself into Cerberus's jaws for the sake of protecting his master, even if it was just for one last time. It was this that must have activated Ciel's true form, a Phoenix; not completely a creature of hell, but not a full-fledged demon, either.

For once, Ciel made an attempt to cry. He wanted to show that he was still capable of feeling, that he cared for Sebastian dearly, to prove that it was possible for him to have tears to cry. Over all, he just wanted to be able to let out the emotional pain that the loss of his butler was causing him.

The group looked on in silence, not sure of what they could do to help the situation. Thompson had gained the nerve to approach and, in his true form, used the muzzle of his bull-like head to nudge Sebastian's unmoving body; similar to how he'd nudged him when he'd been paralyzed by Claude's venom. Only this time there was no reaction. Sebastian remained limp and unmoving.

Seeing this provoked a chain of reactions. Hannah collapsed to her knees and started to cry. Tears streamed down Grell's face but he was determined to keep his sobs silent. William stood straighter and stiffer than usual, almost in a way that looked uncomfortable. Tears had built up in his eyes, his fists were clenched, and there was an obvious lump in his throat that he couldn't swallow. Claude, Ronald, Ashe, and Undertaker had no facial expressions, but the pain dug into them just as deep. Angela was in pieces; more so than Hannah. She covered her face with her hands and sobbed as if her life depended on it.

They were all so caught up in their grieving, that they hadn't heard the hollow sound of a walking stick guiding a newcomer to the scene. Only Claude and Ronald acknowledged it. It was the old hag.

The frail demoness lumbered to where Ciel knelt beside Sebastian.

"It's no use," Williams said quietly, looking on, "He's dead . . . Sebastian's dead . . . My mate is . . ."

That was what broke William. The Reaper – normally stale, bitter, and emotionless – collapsed to the ground and cried as of his soul depended on it.

Meanwhile, the old hag knelt beside Sebastian's body with Ciel. She rested the hand against his cheek.

Ciel lifted his head from Sebastian's chest.

"Now that I think about it, Sebastian and I had a lot in common. We were both the sons of an earl, we both lived tragic lives, and we both had a revenge we had to carry out. I suppose he can rest without any regrets."

The old hag lifted a finger to him, "Don't be so sure of yourself, little boy. You and I are Phoenixes, after all."

Ciel look to her with a shocked expression. The hag smiled.

"I'm just old," she continued, "You'll learn, little boy, that certain creatures have certain abilities. Sirens can hypnotize their prey with their songs. The Hydra has an immortal head that can't be cut off whilst the others can grow back. As for the Phoenix, every great once in a while they burst into flames and die and are reborn from their ashes. Just as well, they shed tears that can heal any wound."

Ciel looked from her to Sebastian, "His wounds were too severe. It's too late to save him. And besides, it's not like I can cry anyways."

"Too late? Don't be so sure about that," the hag reached into her cloaks and pulled out a flask full of clear liquid, "I've revived demons who've had their heads blown off."

She set the flask aside and began by personally tending to the raven demon's wounds. She repositioned his hopelessly broken wings and pushed the bones sticking out back in, creating a chorus of snapping and crackling noises.

"What are you doing?" Ciel asked.

The old hag smirked, "Well, he's not going to be able to heal right with all those bones sticking out."

She finished repositioning the broken bones she could fix. How many more there were that were damaged, she didn't know, but she knew that they'd all be repaired in the end. She proceeded to pick up the flask and unscrew the cap. In generous amounts, the clear liquid was poured into the wounds. Each drop emitted a small hiss and a small puff of vapor. As the liquid set in the wounds, the exposed flesh began to pull together. Any dirt and other foreign bodies were pushed out of the wound as it began to close.

The hag repeated this process with the rest of the wounds and Ciel watched in awe as the external damaged was healed, almost as if nothing had ever happened.

"What is that?" The child demon inquired.

"They're Phoenix tears, little boy," the elder demoness replied, "Each time I've ever cried, I saved the tears for occasions such as this. When there are people in your life you wish to protect, you come up with ways to help them and protect them."

The hag pried open Sebastian's mouth with a trembling hand and poured a quarter of the bottle into his mouth and guided the fluids down his throat.

"Now we wait . . ."

* * *

What happened to a demon's soul when they died? Were they cast into the fires of Hell to suffer for all eternity? Did they simply disappear? The Grim Reapers could say that they did both, actually. Where the souls were cast into was a dark abyss that didn't exist in any particular location and Hell. Here, they waited to be reincarnated; silently dreaming of all the memories that still remained with them until that day came.

Sebastian was aware of what was around him, as well as himself. He felt as though his person was floating, hovering, and drifting aimlessly in this pitch black void as he slept on. It was quiet and a comfortable temperature. He did not feel the overbearing heat of Hell, nor did he feel an uncomfortable chill disturb him. In a sense, this was Heaven to him . . .

. . . Except for the dreams he'd have.

As a demon, he was never blessed with having pleasant dreams. His dreams were the memories he remembered the most. Some of them were pleasant, but most were torturous and brutal. From the day he was first able to fly to the first time tragedy that had ever struck his family, he remembered it all. When he and William first met, to the point where they split up. When he had given birth to their son, to when he gave him to Shelob to care for. He remembered what William had said and done to him when he found out. He remembered meeting Carmilla and when she was killed by Cerberus. And, vaguely, he remembered when William returned to him as his mate.

Sebastian's dreams always seemed to end there. Aside from that, it was just darkness, and sometimes he would hear his master's voice.

_ "This is an order: save me now!"_

_"You must never betray me, and you can never leave my side! That's an order!" _

Memories.

_ "I'm afraid today's game was quite uninteresting."_

_"I can't smile. I forgot how." _

Awful memories.

_ "Don't touch me! It was you all along, wasn't it? You killed my parents. It was you! Just admit it! This is an order: leave now and stay out of my sight!"_

No, it was Claude that was responsible for that. But it's still part of the reason why he ended up in such an awful mess.

_ "You are to remain my butler until you've eaten my soul!"_

Sometime during all this, he thought he suddenly found himself moving upward. He felt himself lie down flat on the hard stone surface of some sort of ground. The air around him warmed up to a familiar temperature. He could hear voices; distant at first, but they gradually became louder.

". . . -ian . . . -ebastian . . . Sebastian . . . Sebastian! Sebastian, can you hear me? Sebastian!"

A moan escaped him. His body felt weak and heavy. He tried to open his eyes, but he barely had the strength to do that, even. But he still recognized the voice.

"Sebastian?"

"M-Master . . .Youn-Young Master . . ." Sebastian had found the strength to speak, though his voice was weak and incredibly quiet, "Young Master."

"Sebastian."

The raven demon's eyes fluttered open. His vision was hazy and doubled and unfocused. He felt like the ground was spinning and that he was still partially floating in the void he was in before. He could feel Ciel's hands , one resting on his shoulder, the other against his cheek, which seemed to help keep him grounded as he tried to focus.

Eventually, his hazy vision cleared and focused.

Ciel smiled and threw his arms around the raven demon; nearly crushing the life back out of him.

" Young Master . . ." Sebastian manage to wheeze out , "You're very loud, Young Master."


	20. Chapter 19: Better Than I Know Myself

**Chapter 19: Better than I Know Myself**

It took time for Sebastian to process that he was being embraced by his master. In fact, the only thing his mind was registering right now was the fact that he felt incredibly weak and that Ciel was being very, very loud. He was in a confused state, still. All he wanted was to lie back down and drift away back into the void. Then again, he didn't want to return to that place of awful memories and nagging voices. In a way, Ciel had unknowingly saved him . . . and cursed him; cursed him to continue his life as a butler.

For a vast majority of the time they'd spent in Hell, Sebastian had been reflecting on just what it meant to be eternally contracted to Ciel. It meant that he was a servant, not just the son of an earl. It meant that his actions were still bound by the boy's orders, not by free will. It meant that wherever Ciel went, he went. Whatever Ciel told him to do, he had to do it. There were many birds I could sing this song. Demons who worked for Lucifer often gave similar descriptions of their job. But was that what he was comparing Ciel to; Lucifer?

Sebastian couldn't overlook the bragging rights that came with being Ciel's butler. He'd gained the knowledge on humans and the human world that the rest of Hell still had yet to understand. He'd been able to blend into his masters world better than any other contract demon ever could. And he been able to pull off this façade; keeping his mask of innocence up and behaving almost like a human in a better act than any demon he'd known of doing. He was the best at virtually everything when put up against another human; though, the butler Agni did pose quite a challenge to him.

Lying there on the cold hard ground being embraced by Ciel made it clear to him. Being a Phantomhive butler was not a bad way to spend eternity.

When he'd gained the strength to do so, Sebastian brought his arms up and returned the embrace. His mind might have been drifting back off to the brink of unconsciousness, but it was an honest sign that he'd accepted his master.

"Young Master . . ." He was finally able to mutter, "What's . . . Huh? Feathers?"

As his energy slowly started to pool into him again, Sebastian's senses started to return. He ran his hands over Ciel's back to make sure that the feathers he was feeling were real.

"Wings?"

Ciel set himself up and smiled, "Yeah, my true form was provoked when you sacrificed yourself for me."

Sebastian blinked his eyes open and looked over him.

"Master. You're glowing!"

Ciel looked to his hands and arms. He realized he was now bathed in a bright orange aura.

"Yeah, I guess I am," the child-demon confirmed, "I am a Phoenix, after all."

At last, Sebastian made eye contact with him and he tilted his head curiously, "Are those tears real?"

Ciel's eyes widened and he brushed them with his hands. Not only were his eyes wet, but tears had been streaming down his face.

"I guess they are," he said, "It's just . . . to think I might have lost you forever, to be alone with no one, I couldn't take it. I suppose you'd call me a spoilt brat that can't do anything for himself. The truth is, I do need you as my butler."

Sebastian rested the hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"A brat? No, Ciel. You're not a brat. You're a very worthy master for one Hell of a butler."

* * *

When Sebastian was strong enough to get it to his feet, the group started back towards the ledge. They Knew Lucifer would be waiting for them, for he'd been one who had the final say on whether they were free, or if this had all been a ploy and they'd all be trapped in here forever. They did hope that wouldn't be the case. Of course, in some instances, the group knew it would've been better if what they discussed in Hell stayed in Hell.

Sebastian lagged behind the others quite a ways, carrying Ciel in his arms.

"Are you sure you're fit enough to be carrying me?" The child-demon asked, "I can walk on my own, if I need to."

"I'm perfectly fine, my lord," Sebastian replied, "I'm a bit tired, yes, but carrying you has never been a task I couldn't handle."

A short time later, they reached the ledge where Lucifer was waiting for them. In total they'd spent two and a half weeks in Hell. Here they had met and had been given their task, and here they were now, possibly being given the chance to say their farewells before going separate ways.

"This is been interesting," Lucifer said, "I'm surprised that some of you are actually willing to speak of what you'd been hiding. In fact, there are some of you that I'm surprised are even still alive." His eyes momentarily settled on Sebastian before wandering around the rest of the group, "You've all told what needs to be told, and in return I give you your freedom. You are free to leave Hell."

"What was the point of doing this?" Ashe asked, "Why did you even bother bringing us here at all?"

Lucifer let out a loud laugh, "It still isn't obvious? I did it so you could be put in one place together without killing each other and hopefully learn something about your foes. Whether you use this knowledge to gain a better understanding of them, or just to know something to expose their weaknesses in battle, I don't really care but it seemed ridiculous that you all shared a hatred for each other, when you really knew nothing about the person you were fighting aside from their name and their race. With knowledge comes power, and with power comes a certain amount of responsibility. What you do with that responsibility is up to you."

"In other words," Claude piped up, "You just wanted us to take the ignorance of our opponents and enemies away from any future confrontations we might have."

"I must say it was an ingenious plan." Sebastian stated.

Lucifer nodded, "It's time I took my leave. You're all free to go, as I said."

With that, Lucifer's massive wings carried him off.

"Wait," Ronald said sitting up, "How exactly are we expected to get out of here?"

"I've gone back-and-forth from here plenty of times," William spoke up, "I can show us the way out," his gaze went to Sebastian, "What about you? Are you staying here?"

"This is where we were originally going to go," the raven demon explained, "We just made an unexpected detour."

William nodded, "No more overtime for me. I'm going home."

Ronald, Undertaker, Ashe, and Angela followed him without another word. Grell stayed behind a while longer.

"I suppose it was interesting," the red-haired Reaper said, "We should do it again; make it a regular thing!"

"I don't think so!" Ciel protested.

"Indeed," Sebastian agreed, "I don't think I need to be killed and revived on a regular basis. It's just too much."

Grell nodded, "I suppose there is flat. So long, Bassy. Perhaps will meet again."

Sebastian merely shook his head as he watched Grell bound away to catch up with the group.

"So what will you three do?" He asked, looking to Hannah, Thompson, and Claude.

The three exchanged glances.

"I suppose we just start over," Hannah said, "Rebuild our reputations and return home."

"I may just try finding another master," Claude stated, "Shelob is likely to eat me alive for what I did to Alois. I suppose I'll have to rebuild my reputation, too."

Sebastian nodded and looked at Thompson, "Let me guess."

"We'll be accompanying Miss Hannah," Thompson said, having gone back to being in this trio of duplicates.

With that, the rest of the group went their separate ways.

"Well, young master," Sebastian said, looking to Ciel, "Where shall we go now?"

Ciel looked back up at him with a smirk.

"I think we've been over this before, Sebastian."

* * *

THE END

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE 4/12/15

" It's finally done! Special thanks to Kiara Dawn for giving me the writing prompt to this very special story. And thank you all for making this my most popular fanfiction. This currently is at 110 reviews and who knows how many more it will get in the future. Thanks a lot! "

-BlueRaven666


End file.
